Asylum
by Bloodrunner
Summary: Insanity is so overrated these days. Hiei knows that but when his friends decide he needs to be committed to the Asylum, he can do nothing but go along with it, as ordered by Koenma. What happens is still unknown but things are sure to brew.
1. Prologue: Out to get Them

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

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**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Out to get them_

The darkness was all consuming, creating shadows that should never have been there. Fear was the dominant element in the room, flooding out from one shrouded corner, darker than the rest. Nothing much filled the space of the cryptic room, but there was no need for it, for the one occupant of the room was more than despaired to huddle in that desolate corner, bare except for a tattered pair of black jeans. The small child was rocking back and forth, hugging a raged stuffed bear to his chest, sniffling softly to himself.

A hand reach out from the shadows, gesturing for the boy to follow. "Come now little one, we're going to take you to a nice place where you can be with other people like yourself."

"No!" the boy whispered. "The world is out to get me, the world is out to get me!"

"No one is going to harm you." The hand waved again. "Come on."

"Get away!" The small boy shifted positions, his hand reaching into the back of his bear.

"Come On!" The hand reached out possessively and in a flash, the hand was reeling back into the shadows and the voice hissed with pain. Dark droplets of blood were now sprinkled over the dusty floor. The boy bared his small sharp teeth in an estranged grin as his widened crazed eyes stared at the liquid now coating his small knife. "The world will never get me!"

"What the–" The voice seemed to belong to a body, which now detached itself from the shadows and came forward. Something about the boy was strange. The small child's cold crimson eyes were now eerily glowing and the temperature in the room was beginning to slowly rise. "What are you doing!"

"The world is out to get me ..." he whispered, rocking back and forth again.

The boy's eyes were unseeing, but could clearly hear when the evil man screamed in pain. Squeezing his teddy, they small child only vaguely registered the bright flames before him, encasing the evil man who had tried to take him away; he had been out to get him, but he had been dealt with appropriately.

The flames slowly died out, and the boy was now left alone, rocking back and forth as he whispered, "The world is out to get me ... and I am out to get them."

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The prologue of this story. Some may say "Hey, I've read this before" and you probably have. I had it posted under my other account but took it off and decided to put it up here, on my new account. I hope you enjoyed it.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	2. Institutionalized

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster__s New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Institutionalized_

It was a beautiful day in Tokyo. Not much was amiss and many smiling faces populated the outdoors. An odd group was among the many, but smiles were not part of their features. The first of the group, who didn't seem to be burdened by anything, was a gangly young man with gelled-back black hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was frowning, but smirked when the unpleasant middle man gave a pathetic shout to his captors.

"I swear if you don't let me go I will burn you all to a crisp!"

"Make me medium-rare, Hiei, and we'll be in business," the smirking man replied, raising a victory sign to the black clad man behind him.

The man called Hiei wasn't pleased, and he narrowed his deep red eyes at the man's back. "Watch your words, Yusuke Urameshi, because you just might regret them."

"You'd better be careful, Urameshi. I think he's serious!" These words came from an ungainly tall youth with vibrant orange hair fashioned into what could be considered a terrible replication of Elvis Presley's do of the 60s. The man;s beady black eyes shifted nervously between the short fiery man he was carrying and his friend leading them.

"Whatever. Kurama would make sure Hiei doesn't do anything stupid."

The one referred to as Kurama shook his head, creating a ripple effect with his beautiful red mane. "You underestimate Hiei, Yusuke."

"Yeah, what the fox said!" Hiei snapped. "Now let go of me. I am not incapable of walking on my own!"

"Sorry Hiei, but we can't do that," Kurama replied. "You are in a horrible condition as it is. Letting you walk won't do anything to help."

"And taking me to some ningen infirmary isn't going to do a damn thing either!" Hiei growled.

"Ningen? This place is far from ningen, Hiei."

"And speaking of the place, we're here now." Yusuke stopped walking and turned toward a stark white building several stories tall. The place smelled strangely; not of antiseptic or flowers of any sort, but of some other pleasant aroma that seemed to put you in a peacefully state of mind as you passed.

Hiei disdainfully took in the building and scoffed. "I could easily burn this place down."

"You'd be careful about that, because this place is fairly protected and they would discharge you on instinct if they thought you were planning on completely destroying the place," Kurama warned the short man.

"Now come on, Hiei," Yusuke said, "this place will take care of you for a while."

Hiei didn't like those words, but he didn't let his dislike show. Instead, he glared at the joking youth and attempted another escape, but by now it was just because he wanted to prove that he didn't like the situation. The four of them entered and walked up to the front desk taking up a large portion of the waiting room. A well groomed young man sat behind the desk, calmly waiting for them and when they all stopped before him, he gave an equally groomed smile, exposing perfectly straight white teeth. "Good morning to you! Which of you is the insane one?"

"What: Hiei was startled by the man's blunt proclamation and suddenly began to struggle with renewed vigor. "I am in no way insane!"

"Sorry about that." A head suddenly popped out from under the desk, which immediately turned to the man. "Andy One, why don't you go see Pueblo about your glitch."

"Yes ma'am." The man walked away casually, disappearing behind a set of swinging doors behind the desk. The female head turned back to the group standing before her and soon materialized into a full person. "Well, I apologize for Andy being so ... blunt. Let me rephrase. Good morning. Which one of you will we be caring for?"

"Sorry miss, but I don't think your words really change anything," Yusuke pointed out, thumbing over his shoulder to the usually reserved demon now thrashing against the two men restraining him.

"Well I guess that makes it obvious who it is that will be staying with us here," the girl said, raising an eyebrow at the short man who was swearing death oaths in his native tongue. He turned to glare directly at her as he snapped, "I am not staying in this place with anyone, woman."

"That's too bad, because we have plenty of room and you would get to meet some _amazing_ people here." The girl rolled her eyes, then turned back to the other three. "I'm Ayana and I do most of the work around here."

"Yeah right." A dark skinned man came out from the swinging doors and dropped his oiled rag on the polished desktop. "Andy One has gone on hiatus and Andy Four has been put out of commission."

"Oh lovely, more screwed up parts and a load of trash," Ayana said with a sigh. "This is Pueblo, our mechanic."

"Okay, well since we know who will be watching Hiei, I guess it's time we handed him over to you," Yusuke said loudly. "I warn you though, he's a tough cookie with a bad temper and an anti-social, dont-mess-with-me attitude."

"Sounds like fun to me!" Ayana grinned, then turned to Hiei, who was now glaring at everything in sight. "Come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Hiei snapped, targeting a tenfold glare at her.

Kurama shook his head and turned to Kuwabara. "Kuwabara, let go."

"Uh, okay, but what about shorty?" The orange haired youth let go, but looked at Kurama questioningly.

"I'll take care of it." Kurama turned to Ayana and nodded. "Lead the way."

"Great!" Ayana ran a hand through her dark brown hair and began walking down the hall. Kurama followed her, Hiei in tow. The angry demon protested against being dragged around, but Kurama ignored him.

"So Ayana, what sort of people do you house here?"

Ayana looked over her shoulder as she answered, "Well, many humans come here just for doctor visits with the human medical doctors we have here, and on the higher floors we have many ... mentally unsound demonic patients who are under our care."

Kurama nodded and asked another question. "Do most of the mental patients eventually leave with a marginal bill of health and stability?"

"Yeah, we have a great many of them that finally come to terms with whatever is causing them so much difficulty and they are free to leave. We also have some out patients, who live nearby and just come in everyday for therapy, then leave later that day." Ayana stopped at the end of the massive hallway where a pair of elegant marble doors stood and waved her hands with elaborate grandeur, saying, "Beyond these doors are ... okay," she had seen the irritated look on Hiei's face, "I'll cut the crap and just tell you that this is where the Institute garden can be found. All of our patients find their way out here at least once during their stay."

Shoving the doors aside, the three of them walked down a short flight of stairs and were suddenly outside, looking upon an extremely colourful elaborate garden. Kurama looked upon the large variety of flowers and plants with appreciation while Hiei had caught sight of the largest thing in the garden; a massive oak tree standing near the far side of the garden.

Ayana looked to the beautiful nature with satisfaction and a great deal of appreciation before turning to the two demons with a large smile. "This place is my favourite to be, but lets go find Hiei a room suitable for him."

Something flashed in Ayana's deep blue eyes that Hiei briefly caught once he'd torn his eyes from the tree. The demon's own crimson eyes narrowed on her face, but she only smiled at him again. Hiei turned away from her and thought; _she is strange_.

Ayana brought them back inside, then closed the large doors behind her. Walking off, Kurama and Hiei followed her to where she stood waiting for an elevator. The girl turned back to them while she waited and cried out happily, "Next stop; the fourth floor!"

Hiei rolled his eyes imperceptibly but didn't saying anything, only biding his time until he could leave. The ding alerted Ayana to the arrival of the elevator and waited patiently until the doors slid open and a few demons came out.

"Hoya!" The three demons who had just come out turned around to see Ayana standing there and waved before molding into less frightful human forms, then headed out to the garden.

Ayana shook her head, then entered the elevator compartment to wait for the other two to get on as well. When they were situated, Ayana pressed the fourth floor button and they were off. Hiei was not pleased with the strange movements, and stood stiffly next to Kurama. The fox demon noticed the tenseness in Hiei's arm, which he still had a hold of, and fought to keep an amused smirk off his face. Ayana, on the other hand, also noticed the suddenly stiff demon and burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at!" Hiei snapped out tersely.

She pointed at him and tried to control her laughter. She managed just barely and said, "You! You have never been on an elevator before!"

Hiei was tired of this woman and only gave her his infamous reply. "Hn."

The elevator came to a stop and the three got off as Ayana said, "H-n. Funny word."

"You'll get used to it," Kurama said. "Hiei tends to use it often."

"You say that as if I'll be staying here, fox," Hiei snapped.

Kurama leveled Hiei with his emerald gaze. "Because you are, Hiei."

"Hn." Hiei gave nothing more than that.

"Alrighty then," Ayana said, "If you two are finished with your short discussion, argument, what ever the hell you want to call it, I would like to ask a few questions about Hiei." Ayana reached over and snatched up a pen and a clipboard from a holder attached to the wall beside her.

"Sure, Hiei and I will answer them to the best of our ability." Kurama replied, glancing at the short demon beside him.

"Where does Hiei prefer to sleep?"

"Trees."

Ayana arched an eyebrow as she jotted that down. "Does he prefer closed or open spaces?"

Kurama gave that question some thought before answering, "Open."

"I guess we already know the answer to that one," Ayana muttered as she circle something, then asked, "Does he need space to hold his clothing?"

"No." That one was a no-brainer, seeing as Hiei only wore the same thing for pretty much everything. The secret to how Hiei seemed to keep himself looking moderately groomed and presentable despite sleeping in trees and never learning how to use a washer and dryer was still a mystery.

Again, Ayana's eyebrow rose as she glanced at Hiei's black apparel. "Does Hiei need companionship of any kind?"

Kurama opened his mouth to give another answer, but Hiei was quicker. "No."

Ayana nodded and scribbled all of this down, then finally looked up from her board and said, "Okay, last and final question; what sort of ... _symptoms_ does he have?"

Kurama glanced furtively at Hiei, who only gave an indifferent 'hn' and turned away. The fox spirit sighed and gave her an answer. "Hiei's usually an anti-social person, only speaking up when he finds it appropriate, but lately, he's become extremely reserved and not even making any comebacks to anything we say to him. Those times when he would become suddenly unresponsive were random and usually occurred at the most inopportune times. Last week was the oddest because he became strangely childish and twitchy; not wanting anyone to touch him and wanting to sit in a corner by himself. When we tried to help, he attacked us with no intentions of stopping until we were all dead. That's when we decided something needed to be done."

"The world is out to get me, dammit!" Hiei snarled, unsheathing his katana and turning it on Kurama.

"That's the same thing you said to Koenma a few days ago when he tried to get you to help on a mission," Kurama stated.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Ayana shouted, breaking into the fight that was bound to break out. "Did you say you worked for Koenma? If so, that brings an entirely new light to Hiei's predicament."

"What are you getting at onna?" Hiei snapped, turning the blade upon Ayana. The girl stared down the length of the blade and took a half step back before answering, "Well, if you work for Koenma, I'll have to treat Hiei better."

"Treat me better?" Hiei snarled.

"Well, I wouldn't want a pissy child bearing down on me because one of his workers cant work to satisfactory level because of me."

"Ah, well I think that shouldn't be a problem. Koenma knows of Hiei's stay here, and he understand that under the circumstances, Hiei shouldn't be working at the moment, so lets just say that Hiei is getting a paid vacation," Kurama replied.

"I don't get paid in the first place, fox," Hiei said.

"That's true, but in any case, I should be going now, but I'll be back in a few days to check in on you, Hiei."

"I have already told you that I am not staying in this place!"

Hiei was now thoroughly distracted, paying more attention to Kurama than he was to the female he was poising his katana at. Ayana took notice of his brief distraction and used it to her advantage, taking hold of Hiei's katana-wielding arm and pinning it behind his back. She whipped out a needle with a sleeping agent in it and poised it at Hiei's throat.

"We can go about this the difficult way, or the less unfortunate way," Ayana said cheerfully, gripping Hiei's wrist tightly.

"Do you not see this Kurama!" Hiei shouted to the redhead who was now parting with them, headed for the elevators. "I swear to you that this whole damn world is out to get me!"

"Like I said, I'll be back to see how you're fairing in a few days time," Kurama turned back to pin Hiei with an even stare. "Please don't cause too much havoc while you're here." With such reassuring words, Kurama entered the elevator and gave a pleasant wave before it closed.

When he was out of sight, Ayana let the demon go and let him pick of his katana, re-sheathing it. "I apologize for that. Just know I wouldn't have stuck you with this if it was really called for." Ayana gently placed the needle back into her pocket and gestured for Hiei to follow her down the hall as she said, "It really isn't all that bad here, and we won't force you into anything as long as cooperate with us on a basic level."

"Hn." Hiei wasn't pleased with any of this, but against his better judgment, he followed her, knowing that Kurama was standing outside the building incase he tried to escape.

"Now, based on the answers, I think I know what sort of room to put you in, but sadly, it won't have a tree in it." Ayana pulled out a set of keys and walked over to stand before one of the doors, then cursed when she saw that there was a sign stuck to it. _Remodeling_.

"Great, now I'll have to find you another room," Ayana muttered, "but I don't want him in that one."

"What are you muttering on about?" Hiei questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Oh nothing. I guess we'll just have to place you in another room." Ayana continued down the hall and stopped again a few doors down.

"So here's your room." Unlocking the handle, the door swung upon to reveal a sparse room with a large window set to the north that overlooked the garden below. The bed was set on the opposite side of the window, against the wall, and their was a small chest at the end.

Hiei walked in but Ayana stayed in the doorway, watching him as she just stood there, hands folded tightly behind her back. Finally, the demon walked over to the window and stood before it, arms crossed as he stared out.

"Well, if you seem situated, I'll be leaving you for now," Ayana said quickly, taking a step back from the door, "but I'll be back later on to see how you're doing. I'll bring you some sheets as well."

Hiei didn't give her a reply, but she didn't really care for one. Quickly shutting the door, Ayana turned away and strode down the hall as fast as she could; she had more important things to attend to than standing in a room with an anti-social basket case.

_But I do wonder what made him into a basket case._

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Yes, this is pretty strange so bear with me. This story developed itself out of nowhere through an odd conversation between Ziren and me. The product is this strange and ... odd story. It does get better. I think this is a mix between humour and angst ... if that is even possible. Tell me if you find anything humourous because I'm not too sure I wrote the funniness well enough. It isn't my strong suit.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	3. Total Oddity

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Total Oddity_

"She's fearful of this room," Hiei muttered to himself as the door closed. He had felt her unease begin to grow when she had realized that she would have to find him a different room and it had continued to fester the closer they had gotten to this one. The next sign was how she wouldn't come into the room, only standing in the doorway and shifting uncomfortably.

Why was he here anyway? Hiei's thoughts turned to the reason the others had become worried about his mental health in the past month or so.

So he had been claiming that the world was out to get him - big deal. They didn't seem to see how the world truly _was_ out to get him. Everywhere he turned, someone was plotting or doing something to try and harm him. For awhile, he had learned to ignore that feeling that everyone was against him, but lately, things had become extremely rocky.

Taking hold of his katana, Hiei decided to put away his thoughts for now, and train for awhile. The room was moderately sized, and the walls were bare, even sporting a few holes and gashes in the drywall already; a few more shouldn't make a difference.

He gripped his hilt and unsheathed quickly, immediately going into forms and going around the room with them. The more energy he put into his thrusts and swings, the faster and more concise they were. Soon, he was sparring with the wall, leaving nasty wounds in the chalk surface. The vigourous attacks invigorated Hiei as he grunted and struck again and again. That is to say, until he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

Sweat was rolling off of the demon as he walked over to the door and opened it. He'd been expecting the strange female Ayana, but instead he was looking down upon a pale little girl who was looking up at him with a blank expression.

"And what do you want?" Hiei asked forcefully.

The girl blinked, but didn't answer, just continued to stare up at him blankly. Hiei growled at the silence she was creating and asked one more time, "What the hell do you want?"

Again, she was silent. Hiei was thoroughly irritated with her, and though he would never admit it aloud, the hollowed black eyes were beginning to spook him a bit too much; her staring was too deep for comfort. Slamming the door in the child's face, Hiei turned away, but stopped and cursed when knocking came again. He stood and began to humour the thought of opening the door and running his katana through whoever was standing there, but he never got the chance. The door suddenly opened of it's own accord and the small girl stepped in.

Hiei glared at the girl, but she only stared at him, undeterred by the expression. The stare lasted a few tense moments before she glanced around the room, and upon noticing the view from the window, strode over and calmly stood and looked out.

"Get out of here, this isn't your room," Hiei snapped.

No response. Hiei walked over to the girl and reached to grab her arm.

"Hiei Jaganshi." The small child turned on her heals, rounding to stare at Hiei, her dress flowing around her. The voice was that of a little girl, but still held an underlying tone of maturity and power.

"How the hell do you know my name?"

"It says so outside your room," the girl remarked.

... but her mouth never moved.

Hiei stared at the small child, his ruby red eyes widening slightly. The girl took notice and said, "Yes, I know my mouth isn't moving, and I would very much like it if you didn't stare."

"You're one to talk," Hiei muttered, turning away from her.

"What do you mean by that?" the girl asked.

"Hn."

"Isabella! Isabella! God dammit, where is that woman?" Ayana's voice carried into Hiei's room through the open door as she walked by, never once stopping to peeking in. "Isabella!"

"What do you want!" the small girl shouted back, walking over to the doorway.

"Oh, there you are!" Ayana scrambled back, but stood a good few feet away from the door. "Arune wants you and I sure as hell am not dressing him again."

"Make him do it himself, I'm having a conversation with Mr. Hiei," the girl seemed to say, but still, her lips never parted.

"But, all you'd have to do is–"

"Yes, I know very well what it is I would have to do, but I am in the middle of something at the moment and Arune needs to learn to do things on his own," the small girl said, placing a hand on her hip.

"Whatever," Ayana muttered, beginning back down the hall. "Just don't freak Hiei out too much. He is a new patient after all."

Isabella snorted and turned back to Hiei, openly staring with out expression again. Her look was somewhat unnerving, yet again, but Hiei's face was a mask of indifference. The girl walked over and sat on Hiei's bed, eyes never leaving Hiei as she said, "My name, as you have heard, is Isabella. And, as it says outside your room, you are Hiei. Now we have passed the formalities, so tell me why it is you have come to Tokyo Health Institute."

"Why do you care?" Hiei tossed back.

"I own this foundation so I might as well know what sort of 'issues' my patients have."

"And how old are you?" Hiei was truly skeptical. Isabella didn't look anything over the age of five, yet she spoke with authority in her childish voice.

"Ha, you must not believe me either then," Isabella spoke in the strange way she did. Her mouth now moved to curl into a smirk, but the voice never escape from her throat. "To be precise, I am three hundred twenty-four and I will be three hundred twenty-five in two weeks prior to this date."

Now that was something. Her age far surpassed Hiei's but he didn't let his amazement reach his expression; taking great care to make sure not a single muscle twitched out of the confines of neutral. "Then what are you?"

"A witch with vampiric blood running through my veins," she replied nonchalantly, sliding off the bed and walking over to the gashes marring the wall. A small hand ran over them and she asked again, "So let me try this again; what has brought you here?"

Hiei didn't supply the girl with an answer and she nodded as if she understood. "Evidently you aren't one to talk and I'm not so overbearing as to pry it out of you, but know that I will learn everything about you in some fashion before you are released from this institute."

Her tone suggested that this was the end of their conversation, and Hiei was somewhat relieved, but instead, Isabella turned back to Hiei and penetrated him with her empty black eyes yet again. She held him there for a few silent moments before she turned her attention to the katana resting at his hip. "You seem skilled in the blade, if that weapon at your side and the marks on this wall aren't evidence enough. Let me see it."

"Not on your life," Hiei growled.

"Oh, I've lived much longer than you so you don't have anything to say on that." Isabella laughed shortly, then narrowed her eyes at Hiei's katana. Hiei didn't like the look on her face, but he couldn't decipher it.

Suddenly, without warning, Hiei's blade slid from it's sheath and traveled through the air to land in Isabella's hands. The girl gave a wry smirk as she answered, "Telekinesis is one talent I enjoy using the most." She headed for the door with the katana still in hand as she said, "Now, I'm sure you would never belittle yourself to the point of self-mutilation, but as head of this establishment, I am ill-advised when it come to demonic patients in possession of weapons."

Isabella paused in the doorway and glanced back to Hiei. "You could ask the person who last occupied this room on that subject. They had the most horrid time coping without a weapon, and they actually jumped out that window when it got too bad for them."

Hiei was baffled and fuming that Isabella had taken his sword. He stormed after the small child, but when he appeared in the hallway, there was no sign of her. She had vanished. He went back into his room and whipped off his bandana as his Jagan glowed brightly. He searched the premises for the witch child, but she didn't seem to possess a ki he could lock into.

"Dammit!" Hiei punched the wall he had just been slicing into and then sat down on his bed. There wasn't much he could do if he couldn't find the girl with his Jagan. For now, he would have to endure the weightless feeling at his side and wait until he could wring that girl's neck.

Hiei's eyes were glaring daggers into the linoleum floor for what seemed like forever until a soft 'plop' sounded and he was suddenly glaring at bed sheets and a fluffy pillow.

"There you are," Ayana said from the doorway. "The things to go on your bed." Before Hiei could say anything, the girl was striding back down the hall and out of view.

_Weird woman_. Hiei was sick of sitting in the room. Something about the room held a certain haunting. The walls still clung to the scent of anger, fear, and desperation with a sickly passion. Whoever last occupied this room had a horrible time with it.

Standing, Hiei left the room and traveled down the hallway. He wanted to get downstairs, but those ominous elevators were not going to be his means of travel. The stairs were more suitable. Hiei went down the four flights of stairs to the ground floor and began down the hall toward the waiting room at the front. There was nothing entertaining here, but at least it was better than being cooped up in that bedroom.

"Hey, creepy black demon!" Hiei paused and turned an annoyed ruby eye toward the person who seemed to be calling in his direction. It was that strange man that had come to the desk with Ayana earlier. The mechanic came up to Hiei and rubbed his hands on an oily rag as he asked, "Which room are you in?"

Hiei didn't grace him with an answer, raising an eyebrow instead. The man took notice and stuck a hand in his hair as he said, "Heh, you must be the silence type. I'm Pueblo by the way."

"Hn." Hiei began to walk away, but Pueblo was daring and grabbed hold of his arm and blurted out, "You are in the room on the fourth floor at the end of the hallway on the left side with a perfect view of the garden below, am I right?"

Hiei glared at the man who was disturbing his personal space and snapped, "What the hell is it to you, human?"

"Ayana," Pueblo replied shortly, "So am I right?"

"Hn." Hiei slowly nodded then shook the man's hand off. Pueblo nodded as if he knew and muttered, "Then that explains it."

"How has my room have to do with Ayana?" Hiei begrudgingly asked. He had noticed her odd demeanour when she was near the room and the fact that she wouldn't enter was something to give pause to.

"She's twitching again," Pueblo answered distractedly. When Hiei gave him a questioning look Pueblo just looked at Hiei as if he was suddenly noticing him for the first time, then walked away.

Hiei was perturbed by the strange encounter, but tossed it aside when a small girl exiting the room nearest to him. She caught sight of him as well and a small smirk folded itself into her lips. Hiei growled and stalked toward the child, who stood there without a flinch at his furious expression.

"What the hell did you do with my sword?" Hiei snarled as he stood over her, looking quite intimidating. She looked up at him with a cool expression and replied, "Follow me."

As Isabella walked away, her black dress swirling around her ankles, Hiei stared after her. His eyes narrowed at her back before he finally followed after her. She lead him down a few hallways and toward a pair of double doors at the end of one hall. Isabella paused just outside the doors and turned to the fire demon behind her, saying, "The weapons do not leave these doors for the safety of the other patients. Ayana is sparing, so do not disturb when we enter."

Hiei didn't reply but Isabella had already turned back and opened the doors, letting a gush of air release itself into the hallway and sweep past Hiei's nose. The smell of sweat and blood were deciphered in the gush of air and it peeked Hiei's interest. The two entered and Hiei immediately took in his surroundings. It was a large training arena with a large circular padded mat at its centre. Two combatants currently occupied the sparring mat, one of which was indeed Ayana. No weapons were involved but both of them had a few scratches about their person. Hiei watched as it progressed, noting that Ayana seemed to have the upper hand in the match. Her endurance was higher than her opponent's and he was beginning to falter; his kicks, blocks, punches, and dodges slowing and becoming weaker.

The winning hit was Ayana's. She made a quick jab to his solar plexus, then lunged back and executed a perfect butterfly kick to his jaw. The man when down hard and Ayana pumped a fist in her victory before promptly helping the man to his feet.

"Good fight, Ms. Ayana," the man said as they shook hands.

"You too, Ganu, now go take your medication before it gets any later." The man nodded and walked past Isabella, giving her a small bow of the head.

Ayana looked over to see the two new arrivals and smiled. "It seems Hiei found you, Isabella!"

"Indeed he did," Isabella replied curtly. She turned to Hiei and said, "Your katana is being held in the weaponry. If you care to spar with someone, you come here, but you leave your katana when you leave, as I said before. Now tell me that you understood."

Hiei folded his arms, seriously finding her commanding tone an irritation. When he made no response, she seemed to strengthen the depth of her gaze and Hiei found himself almost imperceptibly nodding; her eyes were going to be the death of him.

Ayana spoke up quickly. "Just for future reference, I don't spar with weapons." She walked over to where she had a bottle of water and a towel set and picked them up. "I have to get back to work anyway, so I'll see you all later."

She went to leave, but Isabella touched her arm, making the girl pause. "Ayana, I need you to go out and get fresh sage and marijuana leaves for me as soon as you can; preferably before dinner."

Ayana nodded and then left through the doors. As she left, Hiei arched an eyebrow at the short little toddler. "Aren't you a little too young for illegal drugs?"

Isabella gave a dry, humourless laugh and shook her head as she answered, "I am, for one, older than you, but I don't do drugs. They will serve a different purpose for me."

"Right." Hiei turned away and walked over to the next door he came to, which he could sense held the weapons. Opening the door, he walked in and quickly located his katana, which was set upon a rack amongst a vast assortment of other blades. Lifting it from it's perch, Hiei examined it to be sure it hadn't been tampered with.

"I Did nothing to it but place it where it must stay for the time being." Hiei turned to see Isabella standing in the doorway.

Hiei placed the katana back and turned to her, saying, "Spar against me."

"With weapons?"

"With abilities only."

"I would like to ...," Pueblo suddenly appeared next to the girl and said, "Ms. Isabella, Toru has started bleeding again."

"... but I must attend to other things at the moment. We'll spar when time permits it." Isabella followed Pueblo out of the training room and Hiei could hear her begin to bark orders in her childish voice.

Hiei was clearly not going to get his sparring match, but he needed to preoccupy his mind. The only thing he could think of was to train. Hiei turned back to the rack and lifted his katana back up, carrying it out onto the sparring mat. Placing the sheath at his side with his belt, Hiei expertly unsheathed his blade and began forms and strikes, slicing through the hours. He lost track of the time within a few short minutes and was completely absorbed in his movements.

**----X----break----X----**

It was the ringing that stopped him first. Hiei paused in the middle of a downward strike at the sound and then caught the shouts of someone.

"Dinnertime! Dinner's ready!"

Hiei didn't feel like eating, especially if it involved a meal amongst other patients, so he began his forms again, only to be interrupted a moment later when the doors burst open and Ayana stood there with her hands on her hips. "Hiei, it's time for dinner!"

Hiei stopped and turned to her with narrowed eyes. "I'm not hungry."

"It doesn't matter. A mutual rule for dinner time is that all patients be present even if they don't eat. Now come on, put your sword back and get your ass in the cafeteria." She stood there and waited. Hiei didn't move, only glared back at her.

"Don't think I won't get someone in here to drug you up," she threatened. "All you have to do is stand in there. You don't have to talk to anyone and you can even hide in some pitiful corner away from everyone else; as long as you're in there, it doesn't matter. We serve food for those who don't like eating with others at a later time, so that isn't something you have to worry about. Now hurry it up, I'm hungry!"

Hiei finally moved and went back into the weaponry to put away his katana. Before exiting, however, he place a protective barrier around it, strengthening it with his youkai as a warning to anyone who might be tempted to touch it. He came back out and found that Ayana hadn't left the doorway yet. When she saw him coming toward her she turned and began back down the hallway and Hiei silently followed, if not begrudgingly. What hell he was in for he wasn't sure, but he would make sure that whoever disturbed him received adequate pain in return.

**----X----break----X----**

If you haven't noticed already, I've had to create my own page breaks because the button they give you to make one is being fussy with me. I must give credit to tuathafaerie for the "youkai strengthening" thing because that wasn't mine. It belongs to her and not me, so don't get on my ass about it. I love Isabella; she's my favourite character and I love writing her. Ayana's fun too but for her own reasons.

**Trivia:** _If Ayana isn't human but isn't a demon, then what is she?  
_(whomever gets the answer or the closest thing to it will receive some special internet prize and their name and a special little section of their own where I talk about them on my profile)

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	4. Damn Potatoes

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Damn Potatoes_

Hiei silently followed Ayana down the hallway, around a corner and down a larger hallway until they walked through a pair of doors and into a large bright room. Evidently, this was the Tokyo Health Institute's cafeteria. A multitude of patients were already present and receiving food at their tables, although some refused their food and just sat there in different states of consciousness. Ayana turned to Hiei as he took it all in and said, "Like I said, you don't have to eat and you choose where you want to sit. I'll be over there," she thumbed to a large circular table set at the centre of the room, "so don't hesitate to come ask me anything."

Hiei said nothing and Ayana shrugged. The two of them separated and Hiei conveniently found a wall to stand against, given that there was an absence of windows. The other patients seemed to take no notice of him as they ate their own food or did nothing. Hiei only surveyed the room for a few uneventful seconds before he closed his eyes, favouring the inside of his eyelids to the disgusting lowly demons and meager humans; the stench was torture enough.

Now that the material world couldn't distract him with it's blandness, his thoughts were free-floating and his previous reflections began to resurface. Why he was here in the first place was, again, brought into question. He knew that it had been Koenma's final ruling that he be brought to this place after he almost decapitated them all for interrogating him. Kurama had been the one most worried about him, Yusuke's questions not far behind. Kuwabara was more concerned about staying within a safe distance of the fiery demon than Hiei's actual well-being, although he did make discreet inquires of his mental stability from time to time. Hiei still thought that nothing was wrong with him; it was the world and all it's inhabitants that were wrong. Time and time again he was betrayed or falsely comforted by someone. They would show that they had good intentions, when their thoughts were, in actuality, far from it. His life was full of it and not even now did things change, did _people_ change. Not one soul--demon or otherwise--truly care for him. The reality was that everyone was out to get him.

There was no point though, this institute; they wouldn't be able to solve his problem unless they annihilated themselves and the rest of the human and demon population. They could damn well try but Hiei knew their attempts to understand him would be futile; they could tell him that they were there to help him but he knew that they had ulterior motives and they never really cared.

Hiei's thoughts wound and wove themselves around for some time before they gave way to memories; ones he wasn't too fond of. In that moment, he couldn't stop the onslaught of emotions though, so he let it come, if only to drown out that obnoxious noise coming from his right.

**----X----break----X----**

_He was a child again, living with the family of bandits in the forests of Makai. He had gone off to have some fun, slaughtering a total of five low-level demons during his heartless, enjoyable escapade. _

'They deserve to die' _he thought to himself with glee as his blade finally traveled through the body of his fifth victim, effectively severing him in half and bringing his pathetic life to an end '_If I don't kill them, they'll just come back to hurt me. I have to hurt them first.'

_He stopped running to dispel the blood from his blade and as he did, he glanced up at the sun to realize that if he didn't get back to the grounds, he wouldn't get dinner. With food in mind, Hiei zipped off toward the clearing by the shore where they currently lived._

_As he came closer, he sniffed the air for any hint of the trout or boar they might be having tonight. He didn't catch a whiff, but thought they just hadn't started cooking yet. He broke the tree line soon after and had to come to an immediately stop before he lost control; they were ... packed and ... walking away ... from him. Miyuku noticed Hiei standing there, staring after the men he had once called family, and called out, "We don't want to stay around you anymore; you're too strong for us!"_

_Hiei made no reply. Words couldn't change things, couldn't bring them back, couldn't keep the dark and bitter emotions that roiled in his gut away as the bandits began to become smaller and smaller and smaller, going farther and farther and father away from him. He knew they wouldn't come back and it caused him so much pain to think that his only family had deserted him, just as his mother had._

_That night, he stayed in Miyuku's emptied hut and cried. He let the hot tears spill down his dirty cheeks as his soul hardened a bit further. The tears soon trickled away and his sniffs lessened. He wouldn't let this get to him any longer, he wouldn't let himself cry, to feel such horrible emotion. With his mind finally made up, Hiei gave up on staying awake and fell asleep._

**----X----break----X----**

"MISTER!"

Hiei was pulled from his thoughts almost painfully. A small screeching voice rang through his ears, drawing him back to the present. Hiei's ruby eyes slowly opened and he furtively glanced at a small girl who was now leaning severely out of her seat, trying to get his attention. She didn't seem to realize that he was now looking her way though, because she snatched up the mashed potatoes from the tray of the young boy sitting next to her and chucked in Hiei's direction.

The fire demon realized what she had done quick enough and smoothly dodged the pasty projectile. The food sailed through the air and instead of hitting Hiei, connected in the face of an aged man who had just removed his dentures from his mouth.

"Wha' in b'ue b'ases!" the man shouted. He threw his arms up as he began to freak himself out and in the process, tossed his dentures in the air. The dentures when down right in someone's bowl of rice, the little cooked pieces assaulting the poor consumer. He became enraged and picked up the bowl of rice, dentures still cratered inside, and slammed it in the face of the person laughing next to him.

Over with the small girl who had started the entire fiasco, the boy, who had rudely had another person's hands assault his mashed potatoes, narrowed his eyes and scooped up the rest of his rice, turning to the girl. Her eyes widened as she laid eyes on the mound of rice in the boys hands and hopped right over the table as the rice went flying at her. She aimed herself at Hiei, who had been watching this all unfold with slight amusement, and the kajihenge noticed. He waited, counting out the seconds as she sailed closer, then quickly sidestepped, letting her meet the wall head on.

The flying rice that had been sent into the air sprinkled itself out over the rest of the patients, a few pieces even coming to rest in Hiei's head of hair. Many of the other patients saw the turn of events and cheered, scooping up their own meals and chucking them at their neighbours.

Food fight.

Hiei quickly realized that the cafeteria was not a place he wanted to be caught in the middle of and he made a quick dash for the doors on the other side of the room. On the way, he felt something weigh down his hair and something plop against his shoulder, but that didn't stop him. He continued to zip between the hysterical men and women, determined to escape along with his dignity and the least amount of casualties.

In a matter of seconds, Hiei slammed the pair of swinging doors open and dove out into the hallway where things were safe. As the doors swung shut, he could hear Ayana and Isabella, among others, shouting orders and trying to bring the chaos under control.

_Good luck_, Hiei thought to himself with an estranged grin.

Now that he was away from the supervision of those people and out of the corrugated assembly of insanity known as the cafeteria, he could do as he pleased. Standing up, Hiei looked down at his shoulder to see a soggy rice ball splattered against his cloak. He easily brushed the pieces of gooey rice off of him and then reached up to find out what had gotten caught in his hair. With a tug, Hiei brought the article of food up to his face to learn that someone had perfectly stabbed an egg roll through his strands of hair. He tossed the egg roll away, not caring as it skidded across the marble floor, shaking his head to dispel the loose pieces of rice that had fallen in his hair as well.

When he was sure he wouldn't attract any hungry patients to himself, Hiei walked back toward the main lobby and from there, down the hall to the doors leading out into the garden. With a quick sweep to make sure no one was attempting to follow him, Hiei pushed open the large doors and stepped outside into the cool night air. Overhead a crescent moon glowed, bringing ample light to the massive garden. The flowers were shut for the night and many of the welcomed creatures had already scampered back into their little homes for the time being, but Hiei didn't care for any of that; his sights were set on the large oak tree.

In a few short seconds Hiei had alighted upon a large comfortable branch that hung six feet off the ground. There was no one around, not a single other soul was present to disturb him. The sounds of crickets and frogs were the only sounds to be heard of. Not a voice was distinguished, not one unpleasant noise was audible. Hiei felt at peace, almost blissfully at ease. He knew that his time alone wouldn't last forever but what time he could get a hold on would be used. The demon leant against the trunk of the tree, his legs crossed and out in front of him. With a mental sigh, the crimson eyes fell shut and Hiei slipped into a light, thoughtless doze.

It was the first time in a long while that he was truly by himself without any evil person there to spoil it, so he would cherish every moment.

**----X----break----X----**

I just couldn't resist updating. But please, call me out on any spelling or grammatical errors you come across because I'm not too sure I checked this chapter.

I know this chapter was short, but I just had to get this out. The food fight and realizing how much of a paranoid sociopath Hiei really is. Of course, his paranoid sociopathic ways are still to be seen in later chapters, but I'm trying to get across some things here. Chapter four will come sooner than usual, since this is a short chapter and you probably want to read more.

Also, I don't know who the bandit leader's name was, so I just created one. If that information is known, pleased let me know. He won't be appearing in any future chapters though, so I don't think it matters so much.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	5. Depth in Tension

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Websters New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Depth in Tension_

Hours lapsed into the past as Hiei dozed, still aware of his surroundings but relaxing in the same instance. Nothing disturbed him for a long while, which suited the demon just fine, but he knew that it would soon come to an end.

"Comfortable?"

The question seemed to echo through and out of both his ears. It _almost_ startled him but he kept his composure and slowly opened one red eye, peering down beneath his branch. Little Isabella stood there, small hands resting on her hips, her deep black eyes focused on Hiei's form above her. She stood silently for a few moments but when she didn't receive an answer to her question she asked, "You do know you've been out here for perhaps five solid hours?"

"Hn."

Isabella shook her head. "Night hours, Hiei, are the signal that you are to return to your room, no matter where you were before then. Sleep isn't mandatory seeing as many of our patients have issues with that very thing, but the garden is off limits during this time."

Hiei made no response as his one eye slid shut. He was making sure Isabella knew that he wasn't about change himself and go by their rules willingly. The witch seemed to take note of that and began to walk away as she said, "There are consequences to your actions, Hiei."

She continued to walk back down the path, not once looking back when Hiei gave a strangled shouted; she didn't need to see him to know that she had successfully taken hold on his body. The kajihenge was now floating six feet from the brick path, bobbing in Isabella's wake.

"Dammit!" Hiei shouted. "Put me down, witch!"

"There are consequences to your actions, Hiei," the child repeated in a monotonous tone. "Remember that."

She continued to use her telekinesis to carry Hiei along, blatantly ignoring his shouted to be let down. When Hiei finally stopped shouting, she smirked, but only for a moment. Without warning Isabella felt a force shove her own telekinetic energy away from Hiei's body. She had only ever experienced the strange feeling of having her malleable energy hovering limply in the air with nothing to latch onto, so this sudden intervention was something to take an interest in. Isabella drew her energy back to her as she turned to face the demon moodily standing behind her, her curiosity too much to resist now. The girl's eyes immediately fell upon the sight of a third violet eye positioned in the dead-centre of Hiei's forehead. Clutched in the demon's hand was a white bandana and the abnormal sight finally clicked into place in her mind.

"So your last name has more to do with the paranormal than it does with surnames," Isabella surmised.

"Don't ever do that again," Hiei replied with a guttural snarl.

Isabella seemed unaffected by Hiei's apparent anger as she smirked. "So flying doesn't sit well with you? I'm sure many other people would kill for the chance to feel such a sensation."

Hiei growled, his eyes practically glittering with fury under the glow of the gibbous moon hanging overhead. The two opposed each other, Hiei tense and bubbling with anger, Isabella cool and expressionless. The air was thick with Hiei's raging aura; he had a boatload of pent fury and frustration riding on the unseen manifestation of his aura and if you could see it, you'd piss your pants.

Isabella could see it, yet her trousers remained dry and unsoiled as she stared straight at Hiei.

Another round of seconds descended and passed in tense silence. Neither of them moved. It was a deadlock; Hiei so eagerly wanted to rip out Isabella's seemingly silent voice box and Isabella was more than prepared to defend herself if the need arose, but their eyes were set on one another. Hiei had an unknown sense of wariness drift through him, bringing a pause to his murderous thoughts and intentions; Isabella's eyes were too haunting and serene, too deep and shallow. Somewhere in the back of the demon's mind, he swore that she knew how her gaze affected him and she was intentionally creating such a disturbing look in her black pools.

_Don't look at her, dammit!_ Hiei now directed his anger on himself, using it as fuel to manipulate his body again and break the stare Isabella seemed to hold him in.

"Hiei, is something wrong?" Her lips never shifted, even for an instant, but her resonating words finally gave Hiei the leeway to look over Isabella's head and walk past her.

The girl didn't make comment as Hiei walked toward the institute doors. She chose to leave immediately instead, knowing that she had something more pressing she needed to be getting to. All it took was a quick manipulation of her atoms and molecular structure and the small witch brought herself to stand just within the open doorway to one of the large rooms that was currently being racked with the shouts of doctors, the cries of a pained and delirious patient, and the highly strung emotions of nurses and medical assistants.

"Isabella!"

"What?" the child asked, calmly walking over to an extremely hassled Ayana. The woman's entire upper half was already completely soaked in blood and she looked as if she were just about ready to dash out the door.

"His condition is becoming worse," she answered once she finally got her breathing under control. "We can't close up the wounds until he's settled, but the only way to get him to stop jerking around is to sedate him, but that nearly impossible to do properly when we can't get him to sit still long enough to stick the needle in him."

"N-NO! NO NEEDLES!" The bloodied man on the Gurney began to thrash more violently against the dozen nurses and doctors already trying to suppress him. "AAAHH! MAKE IT STOP!"

Ayana's face contorted horribly as the man continued to scream and plea with God to make the pain stop. She was on the verge of tears, among other things, and looking at the distressed man only made it worse.

"Stop looking, Ayana," Isabella snapped with a sudden vehemence.

The young woman jerk her gaze away from the patient and looked back at Isabella. "None of the demonic doctors on staff with the ability to enter his mind and calm him down that way ..." she stopped to let another scream pierce the room, her own face looking pained, "but the pain and stress on the man is making his mind impenetrable."

Isabella nodded but didn't say anything. Ayana bit her lip and began to twitch, her body seeming to involuntarily curl in on itself every time the man let out another scream. Her bright blue eyes pleaded with Isabella to do something decisive about the situation but the child continued to stand there, silently watching the man as more blood seeped out of the five meticulously placed lacerations decorating his body.

Ayana finally couldn't take it. When another scream finally died out, she opened her mouth and started, "Isa–"

She was stopped when the child raised a small pale hand. As the name died in her mouth, Ayana's brain registered a change in the room; a change she was familiar with and absolutely despised. She slowly turned toward the gurney, the blood, the body and her eyes welled up with unwanted tears; the man had ceased all movement, all sound, all life.

The large medical staff that had just been pressing their weight against him immediately backed off, a few making the cross over their chest in respect. No one said a word and no one but Isabella moved. The small girl slowly turned her head toward the open doorway. There was no one there but she knew otherwise. A slow grin molded across her face as she thought to herself, _You cease to amuse me._

"He's dead. It happens. Now would you people care to remove him? Rotting corpses don't do well for business."

Isabella's curt words brought reality back into play and the assistants stepped forward to take away the body.

"Did you have to say it like that?" Ayana hissed at Isabella as she tugged off her shirt, followed by the white undershirt. Despite the sudden exposure of the woman's bra, none of the other occupants took notice; they had long since gotten use to Ayana's strange behaviour.

Isabella closed her eyes briefly. "I apologize." There was no emotion behind it but Ayana seemed to accept it with a quick nod as she snatched up her stained garments and scampered from the room. Isabella let her go past but as the woman reached the door, she snapped, "Ayana."

"Yes?" Ayana turned to look at her employer, containing the urge to snap at her.

"There is only so long I will let this continue before you either straighten yourself out or I force it on you."

Ayana's breath caught in her chest and she momentarily lost focus, everything becoming blurred.

Isabella's eyes narrowed on the young woman. "Am I understood?"

With a deep breath, Ayana nodded and promptly darted out of the room. Isabella shook her head but let it slide; she was being lenient ... for now.

**----X----break----X----**

And the tension rises. I'm curious to know what you readers think the cause for Ayana's peculiar antics is. I don't think it will be easy to figure out but then again, I don't know how your mind works.

Also, keep tabs on my profile because it's bound to change from time to time.

**Trivia:** _If Ayana isn't a demon and isn't a human, what species is she?_

Another short chapter. I doubt any of the chapters will be all that lengthy, since I do not intend for this to be a long story. So; read and review.

(Special thanks to **Dream x Spirit** and **Killani**, my only reviwers at the moment. I appreciate your comments and praise.)

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	6. Battling Conflict

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Battling Conflict_

Hiei wasn't sure what to do with himself now. Being confined to the bedroom wasn't something he was used to on any level. He was frustrated and really didn't want to give way to past memories, so he decided to head for the training room.

Halfway down the hallway, Ayana came shooting through the Operation Room doors. Hiei continued to walk, not looking back as she came running up to him. Only when she stopped to walk in tandem with him did he finally give her the slightest of glances; only to see that she was virtually topless, all but a navy bra covering her upper torso.

"W-What are you doing down here?" she rushed out.

"Those pitiful screams," Hiei replied stiffly.

His response seemed to make Ayana flinch and Hiei caught himself wondering why.

Ayana took a deep breath and asked, "So where are you going now?"

"Training."

"Can I spar against you?" The woman seemed to almost plead it of Hiei.

"Hn."

Ayana sped up just enough to turn around. She now walked backward, facing Hiei as they continued to traverse down the hallway, entering the lobby. "Is that a yes?"

Hiei decided not to give a definite answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and kept walking, using his sense of ki to find the gym. Ayana's presence never left him as he opened the training room doors and stepped in. Evidently, she really wanted to spar against him.

"No weapons," she bit out immediately.

"Why?" Hiei tossed at her sharply.

Ayana's face stilled and her shoulders tensed for the briefest of moments before she replied, "You don't have to accept my sparring offer."

"Hn. You never offered." Hiei whipped his cloak to the side and walked to stand in the centre of the sparring mat. Ayana only paused to discern his body frame for a moment before moving to oppose Hiei, standing three feet away.

No words were exchanged between the two; they gave a formal bow to one another, tapped knuckles, then dropped into their signature fighting stances. The stand off only lasted a few short seconds before Ayana swung her leg around to do a roundhouse to Hiei's temple.

Hiei blocked it smoothly and quickly followed it up with a reverse punch to the solar plexus that momentarily knocked the wind out of Ayana. She lunged back and tried a front kick aimed for Hiei's gut but the demon easily dodged the hit, sending his own acute roundhouse into Ayana's ribs.

"Why are you so afraid of weapons?" Hiei hissed out as he ducked under Ayana's right hook.

"I have no clue - _hait!_ - what you're talking about," Ayana replied, bringing her right hook into a back knuckle, catching Hiei's right temple as he came out of the duck.

Hiei growled and virtually disappeared, immediately reappearing behind her. He landed a solid front kick to Ayana's tailbone, causing her to lose her balance and head toward the mat. Ayana realized she was going down and curled herself into a forward roll, spinning to face Hiei as she came back up.

"Yes you do," Hiei snapped. "It's the only reason you won't spar with them."

The demon lunged in with a high punch, but Ayana was quicker and did an outside crescent kick to Hiei's jaw and sent him toward the ground. Hiei shot an arm out as he neared the mat and levered back off his hand, kicking his legs straight out as he pushed himself back at Ayana. His boots caught her right in the gut, sending her sprawling onto the mat. Landing swiftly, Hiei pressed his foot upon her exposed stomach.

"I win," he said flatly.

Ayana didn't make any reply to that statement, but continued with their original ... discussion. "How the hell do you know that my reason for not sparring with weapons is because I'm afraid of them? I may just not like sparring with weapons simply because I don't feel like it!"

Hiei didn't lift his foot from her stomach as he replied, "If that's the simple answer, why get so defensive?"

Ayana opened her mouth, caught herself, then closed it again. Hiei watched her, then stepped off. "Hn." Turning away, he headed back to where he had set his cloak down as Ayana hoisted herself up.

"Why do you care that I'm afraid to use weapons, though?" Ayana questioned as she walked toward the demon.

"I don't." Hiei threw his cloak back on as he walked toward the doors, never once turning toward Ayana as she followed after him.

"Then why ask?" Ayana's voice grew a cocky tone as the two of them headed out of the training room and down the hall.

Hiei didn't answer her, which started to annoy Ayana for some reason. She didn't press him for an answer though, getting the feeling that despite not having his katana at his side, he'd harm hurt her within a moment's notice.

"Why are you following me?" Hiei suddenly asked in the silence that has started to descend.

Ayana blinked. "Huh? I'm not following you, we just happen to be taking similar paths."

Again, Hiei made no response. They continued to walk down the hallway until they stepped into the lobby. Hiei turned toward the next corridor, planning on take the stairs up to his floor, but paused when he saw Isabella standing at the entrance to the corridor with an piece of cloth clutched in her small hand.

"I-Isabella, wh-what is that?" Hiei shifted slightly, viewing Ayana out of the corner of his eye.

The woman had stopped a few feet short of where Hiei stood. Her face had suddenly become ashen and pale, sweat collecting on her brow and upper lip. She seemed frozen to the spot and her blue eyes were locked onto Isabella and the thing she held in her hand.

Isabella took a step forward and Ayana automatically took a step back. "Something you should have been confronted with a long time ago."

Ayana's breath hitched and her eyes almost dropped from their sockets. "I-I thought y-you said th-that you w-w-would l-let me —"

"I changed my mind, Ayana." Isabella's tone bit harshly into the woman and she flinched. Hiei seemed to be going unnoticed, practically watching this all unfold from the sidelines, despite him being caught almost directly in between the two of them.

Isabella took another step toward them, Ayana taking one step in the opposite direction. "P-Please, I-Isabella! D-don't make m-me do this n-n-now."

"Why not now? If I let you go like so many other times, you'll never get over it."

"I-I promise! I s-swear I'll g-get over i-it!" Ayana was almost hysterical. Tremors were prominent about her body and fear rolled off of her in waves.

"Hiei," the kajihenge looked at Isabella, who was now staring at him, "I want you to stay with Ayana tonight."

"What!" Both Ayana and Hiei bore shocked expressions, gaping at Isabella like she had grown two heads, polka dotted skin, and flesh-eating tentacles.

"N-n-no. Way!" Ayana shook her head vehemently, arms waving around as if to ward off all the sudden craziness. "Hiei has his own room, there is no way in hell he's staying with me. Besides, he's supposed to stay at the institute, where he can be monitored."

"Exactly." Isabella tucked the piece of cloth into a hidden pocket of her black dress. "Hiei will go with you to your apartment and stay the night. He'll be monitored by you and you'll be monitored by him."

"I don't need to be monitored!" Ayana cried. "He's the one who was brought here for treatment, not me!"

"Stop your whining, Ayana," Isabella snapped, lips still. "It's either that or a day's docking on your pay check and dressing Azuné for a month."

Ayana's eyes widened. "Alright, fine. Come on Hiei."

Hiei opened his mouth to argue but Isabella fixed him with another horrid stare and he suddenly decided against it. With a grunt, Hiei followed Ayana as she exited the Tokyo Health Institute and the two got into Ayana's Lexus.

"There are rules that will be followed if you're going to stay at my place for the night." Ayana was already over the shock and the fear that she had experienced only moments ago, already taking control of the situation.

As the woman backed out of her parking space and pulled out onto the street, she dished out the rules and regulations to a silent and brooding Hiei.

**-----X-----break-----X-----**

And out comes chapter five. Yes, I know that these chapters have been coming out fairly quickly, but it's because each chapter is short and the all over length of this story (hopefully) won't exceed nine or ten chapters. It was never meant to be long in the first place, so ... yeah. I hope you enjoyed reading this and I seriously hope I didn't confuse some of you guys with the sparring match; I take martial arts, so I had fun writing that scene. If it didn't make much sense, just simplify it in some way. Meh.

**Trivia:** If Ayana isn't a demon and isn't a human, then what species is she? ... also ... what is it that Ayana hasn't "confronted" yet?

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	7. Curiosity

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Websters New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Curiosity_

"... my bedroom is off limits to you unless I give you explicit permission to come in. You must ask before getting anything out of my refrigerator. I will arrange where you are to sleep. And if I say you can't do something, then you can't do something, do you understand?"

"Hn."

Ayana wasn't too pleased with the answer but then again, she shouldn't have expected anything more from him. With a roll of her eyes, Ayana focused on driving rather than the moody demon seated not but a foot and a half from her.

The rest of the car ride was spent in tense silence, both occupants brooding over the current situation. It didn't take much longer to reach Ayana's apartment, saving them from their silent tormenting.

The two entered the building and Ayana strode over to the set of elevators, pressing the "up" arrow. Without turning, the woman knew that Hiei still stood a few good yards away from the shimmering brass doors. The elevator finally arrived and, as the doors slid open, Ayana turned to Hiei, barely containing her frustration as she said, "Come on, Hiei. I'm tired. Don't be difficult."

"Hn. I'm not getting in that thing."

Ayana didn't even try fighting him on it. As she stepped into the spacious compartment she replied, "fine. You can meet me on the sixth floor then."

The woman waved a farewell to the demon as the doors slid closed, but Hiei never saw it; the six flights of stairs beckoned. With a smooth burst of inhuman speed, Hiei ascended with a swift silence.

When the demon hit the sixth floor and entered the hallway he brought his pace down a few notches although still retaining his quick and powerful strides. Hiei easily reached the elevators, passing by just as the doors slid oopen to let Ayana exit.

Hiei was still walking down the hall albeit at a more leisurely pace. Ayana gave the demon's back a funny look before she said, "I do believe you're going the wrong way."

Hiei stopped, gave a grunted 'hn' and turned to head the way he'd just come from, his eyes never making contact with Ayana's smirking face. As the kajihenge strode past the young woman, she fell in step with him.

Neither of them exchanged words as they traversed the hallway until Ayana finally stopped.

"Number 612," she pronounced.

Hiei said nothing and Ayana didn't wait from it. She brushed past him to reach her door and with a soft click, admitted Hiei into her home.

As the wonderful host, Ayana automatically turned to Hiei as he crossed the threshold and snapped, "All rules are enforced. I'm taking a shower then sleeping. Good night." She then took off in the direction of her bathroom.

And as the silent observer, Hiei paid Ayana's words no mind and began to take stock of his surroundings.

The foremost feature that was dually noted was the immense congregation of plant life. Something strongly impressed the thought of Kurama into his mind. Not only moments within registering the greenery, Hiei's mind succumbed to the earthy feel. The floors were of polished maple and the colour scheme in every room he traveled through bore the shades and soft hues of earthy browns and golds, forest greens, and soft splashes of feathery blues. Strangely, the rooms each smelled distinctly different, but all of which would have come from a wood or glade.

Hiei was perturbed, however, by Ayana's home. It wasn't its obvious woodland feel-that almost making him comfortable-but the permeating aura that centred strongly around the multitudes of odd room accessories and decorations. The plants themselves seem to thrive off of this aura, as if the aura was the alternative to carbon dioxide. Why did this aura perturb him so?

It was neither human nor demon and yet was almost identical to the foreign aura surrounding Ayana herself.

Hiei walked into the den just as he heard the shower turn on. He walked over to a glass faced oak cabinet that was full of twisted wooden figurines and objects, all with faint auras. Many of them couldn't be defined but some looked like dragons, trees, and there was even a small carving of a dagger. They were strange, foreign and yet, oddly beautiful.

There was still another room he hadn't looked into – besides Ayana's off-limits bedroom. The door was closed but Hiei ignored that first forewarning, sensing a large corrugation of that strange unknown aura. As the door swung inward, Hiei was staring into what used to be a guest bedroom, now transformed into a small library of scrolls and text. The kajihenge's curiosity was suddenly peeked and he entered in. The first thing that quickly caught his attention were the vines and leaves carpeting the floor, along with ivy crawling over the wood-paneled walls. He carefully walked over the leaves and next noted that the leaves weren't dead, which they should have been if they weren't connected to a source of sustenance. The entire room was strange and strongly focused on nature. Even the wood paneled walls were rough, as if they were still covered in bark. Hiei walked farther into the room and finally took a closer look at the large collection of books and pages. He walked over to one shelf and slid a book from its perch, flipping it open. Immediately he realized he couldn't read the words. It was scripted in another language that look nothing like Japanese or any other language he knew of.

"What the hell is she?" he muttered to himself as he slid the book back onto the shelf. Now Hiei was curious about Ayana beyond reason even if he wouldn't openly admit it. There had to be something in this house that could tell him something. He would have to find out on his own because he obviously knew that he wouldn't get a straight answer from Ayana ... as if he'd ask her in the first way.

Just then the sound of the shower stopped. Hiei quickly decided that his presence in this library probably wouldn't go over too well with Ayana if she found him there, so he exited and walked into the living den and stood there, looking indifferent and possibly a little peeved.

A few minutes later, Ayana came walking in, drying her wet hair, wearing a white spaghetti strap top and dark green sweats. "You aren't hungry are you?"

Hiei didn't answer her, which let her assume that he wasn't. She gave a small shrug and said, "You can sleep here on the couch," she chinned at the long sofa Hiei was standing next to, "and you can use that blanket too."

"Hn."

"You use that a lot, you know?" Ayana said, placing a hand on her hip. "Are you capable of saying anything else now?"

"You have a horrible sense of design," Hiei spoke.

Ayana smirked. "Like you really care. Since you aren't hungry and you have a place to sleep, I'm going to bed. Don't try anything stupid."

Again, Hiei said nothing and Ayana left, entering her own bedroom and closing the door behind her. Hiei stood there for a good few minutes before heading into the kitchen. He may not be all that hungry but he was strangely to know what she had stocked up in her fridge. He opened it up and glanced inside ... and wasn't all that surprised to see that there was nothing but fruits and vegetables; no meats. For some reason, with all that he'd seen already, Hiei had almost been expecting the woman to be a vegetarian. He still wasn't clear to what she was but he was starting to understand that with this obsession with nature must also bring a resentment to killing animals for food.

There was nothing else to do here. Hiei shut the refrigerator and glanced at the clock glowing from the stove. 11:57. Hiei decided that the smartest thing to do now would be to try and doze off. He headed back into the den and stared at the large sofa with slight apprehension. The thing looked like it would suck him up and never cough him up. There was just no way he was sleeping on that thing.

Hiei turned away from the sofa and walked into the small dining room that branched off from the kitchen. There was a large rectangular table almost in the centre of the room. One end rested against the wall, making it the perfect sleeping place for him. With ease Hiei climbed up on top of the table and rested his back against the wall, his legs crossed in front of him. After a few minutes of silent thinking, reminiscing over everything in general–including Ayana's odd behaviour at the institute–Hiei finally dropped off into a light sleep.

**X-----X-----break-----X-----X**

"What the FUCK!"

Hiei's eyes immediately snapped open and narrowed onto the sight of Ayana standing, wide-eyed in the doorway to the dining room. "Can you be any damn louder?" he hissed.

"What the hell are you doing, sleeping on my table?" the woman snapped, fists pressed against her hips.

Hiei slid off the table as he answered, "Sleeping, like you said."

"But _why_?"

"Hn." Hiei walked into the kitchen and then asked, "When do we leave."

"Uh ..." Ayana forgot about Hiei's choice of beds and looked down at her watch. "SHIT! Now!"

Ayana ran back into her bedroom as Hiei walked to stand by the front door. As he stood there he could here Ayana cursing and rushing around. Finally she came down the short hall, coming toward Hiei.

"Back to the White Building of Hell," Ayana muttered as she went out the door, followed by an indifferent Hiei.

**X-----X-----break-----X-----X**

"Hiei."

The kajihenge and Ayana had just entered Tokyo Health Institute when Isabella called the black-clad demon over to her. Ayana looked toward the small woman with apprehension before heading for the back room where she would have to get prepared for a day of crazy patients and sharp commands from that same black-eyed witch.

Hiei slowly walked over to where Isabella was standing and finally stopped as she looked up at him blankly.

"What do you want, witch?"

"How did things go while you were with Ayana?" she asked.

Hiei raised an eyebrow and didn't answer. Isabella sighed and then asked, "Did she and you talk at all?"

An almost imperceptible shake of the head in the negative.

"No? You two didn't say anything? Nothing about what happened between her and me?"

"She went to bed almost immediately after we entered," was Hiei's clipped answer.

"Well then," Isabella muttered as she began to walk away, "I guess I _will _have to take matters into my own hands."

**X-----X-----break-----X-----X**

The breaks are still being damn fussy. This was basically a filler because when I was writing chapter five and I was nearing the end, I never initially intended for Hiei to be diverted from the asylum to Ayana's place so this chapter gave me trouble. Now does anyone have any guess as to what exact Ayana could be?

Chapter seven will be much better, I assure you. I plan to posted it on the fifth which is the first day I go back to school.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	8. A Brief Lapse in Sanity

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_A Brief Lapse in Sanity_

Hiei stared after the child for a few moments before turning and heading for the stairs, never having a backwards thought about Isabella's words; it was none of his business. Ayana was nothing to him and he was only biding his time until he could convince these pathetic people that he was fine and he didn't need to stay here.

Up the stairs and down the hall, Hiei entered his bedroom and looked around. It still held that angst feeling in the walls, as if something was being harboured within them. For some reason it felt something akin to a long dormant spell. It made his skin crawl but he wasn't fond of being around other people at the moment, so this was the best place to get away from everything. Hiei walked to sit on the edge of his bare mattress and stared out the window, his sights set on the oak tree that was clearly visible from where he sat. He wanted to be sitting in a high branch of that tree but it was daytime, which meant that other patients would surely be out in the garden. They would want to engage him in conversation or want to know why he was sitting himself in the tree; that was something he was going to avoid.

But now there was nothing to do.

It didn't take Hiei long to slip into a blank dreamlike state within himself. At first it wasn't anything except a mindless peace; no thought, no emotion, just a peacefully empty cavity, vacant of everything. But it was only a few moments later that his suppressed memories of the past inched their way into the void. Hiei instantly put up resistance, not wanting to deal with those raw emotions again. Hiei continued to fight it to the best of his ability but was oddly saved from them when a scream rang in his ears and brought him painfully back into reality.

As the scream kept up, it seemed to drawn nearer, until it suddenly reached an almost unbearable decibel just outside Hiei's open door. The scream's final ending was abrupt and brought about a momentary relief, but the torture was yet to end. Led by her scream, a young teenage girl came barreling into Hiei's room. Her wild black brown curls bouncing and swirling unabated about her face. Hiei watched with slight amusement as the girl turned her sprint into a tumultous jump, soaring toward Hiei.

As the demon swiftly moved off the bed and halfway across the room, Hiei recognized the girl as the one who had attempted to nail him with a hand full of mashed potatoes the night before ... and for the second time, the girl met the wall head on with a loud thud.

"TASHA!"

The girl thrashed around on the floor, making strange gurgling sounds. It took Hiei a few seconds before he deciphered the sound as laughter.

"Bad room! Bad room! Ahahaha!" She sat up and stared out the door until Ayana suddenly stood there, framed by the open doorway, breathing heavily.

"Tasha! Get out of there, it isn't your room!"

"No, no! BAD ROOM!" Tasha cried with load cackles. "Precious, we're in bad room!"

Fingers twitching as they gripped her hips, Ayana snapped, "Yes, you brat, you're in the bad room, now come out!"

"Never! You can't make me!" Tasha gave another bought of gurgling laughter. "Precious we have stumped Ayana once again!"

"Tasha, I'll say it one more time; get your crazy ass out of there, now!"

"Come and get me then!" the young girl shot back, suddenly leveling Ayana with a glare.

Ayana gave an infuriated huff then hissed, "Tasha, either you come out or I'll go and get someone to drag your stupid ass out of there."

"Go ahead then," Tasha hissed back, sticking out her tongue. "Ms. Isabella likes me better anyway!"

Ayana hesitated in the doorway for but a split second before finally storming off as she muttered to herself, "Damn girl, making me get someone. I hope Isabella punishes her ass to hell."

As Ayana tromped off Tasha giggled again, bouncing to her feet as she happily sang in an off-tone voice, "Bad room, bad room, Ayana can't get us!"

Suddenly the girl whipped a glass sphere from somewhere in the folds of her grungy clothing and began to stroke it lovingly as she intoned, "Yes precious gem, we're in bad room where meany Ayana can't get us with her dirty tricks."

Snickering, Tasha was silent for a few brief seconds before replying to the silence, "No, she wouldn't dare step in here. She's probably getting a nurse or even Isabella. Bah, going and getting someone else to do her work for her. She's stupid, that's what she is."

Brief silence.

"I know! I can't believe I called her a sister, either!"

Brief silence once more.

"Well she did get me ice cream that one time. Remember when I lathered you in it, precious?"

Another period of silence ensues.

"I never did like those pink sprinkles very much. They told me bad secrets and they were bubbly and stupid, just like Ayana. The sprinkles and Ayana should get married and move to America where they'll leave us alone!"

That strange silence began again and soon after, Tasha opened her mouth to form a reply, but Hiei's lips were quicker.

"Shut up."

"Huh?" Tasha's head shot up at the sudden intrusion upon her seemingly one-ended conversation, her eyes round as she stared at Hiei's profile. "Hey mister! Did you know my precious likes you?" She lifted the sphere up so Hiei could see it and then said, "Precious likes weird people like you."

Hiei didn't answer, which made Tasha angry. She took a step toward Hiei, prepared to do something, although what couldn't be told, but was suddenly halted when Isabella appeared before her in a wisp of mist.

"What are you doing out of your area, Tasha?" the small woman inquired brusquely.

"Precious and I were tired of the area so we wanted to take a walk, but stupid Ayana told us no so we _excaped_, but she chased us so we ran into mister's room because his door was open."

"Escaped, Tasha. Now why don't you go back to the area."

"No! Then Ayana will be able to get us! We're in bad room where she can't reach! Let me stay here with Mister!" Tasha turned round pleading eyes to Hiei who had since turned to give them a perfect view of his backside.

"Hiei," Isabella intoned, "do you wish to have Tasha in your company?"

"No."

"MISTER HIEI!" Tasha began to wail. "Please let me stay and play with you! Precious likes you and you are much better than Ayana!"

"No."

Tasha's face flushed a deep scarlet and then she screamed, "I HATE YOU!"

Storming out of the room, the girl continued to vent, muttering curses and something akin to "evil Hiei meanness".

Isabella turned to face Hiei's back as she said, "I apologize for the intrusion. Tasha usually stays in her area but she's prone to strange tendencies and wanting to disobey me. Good bye."

Isabella headed for the door when Hiei suddenly asked, "What did the girl mean by 'bad room'?"

The question gave Isabella pause as her hand touched the handle to the door. She slowly turned back to the demon who had now faced her and answered evasively, "You will learn soon enough."

* * *

Yes! The breaks finally cooperate. 

Well this chapter was more of a filler and a way for me to briefly let you all get a taste of Tasha, the derranged girl living at the Tokyo Health Institute. You probably won't meet her again for at least another full story has past, but keep her in mind. The next chapters will be much more eventful so bear with me as I struggle to keep my school work, extra-curricular activities, and writing balanced as best I can; lets just hope I don't get grounded from the computer any time soon then, ne?

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**

**PS. **please make me aware of any spacing mistakes or spelling/grammatical errors; I'm trying to get this fixed up but this damn headache gets in the way of things.


	9. Forcing Confrontation

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Forcing Confrontation_

The question gave Isabella pause as her hand touched the handle to the door. She slowly turned back to the demon who had now faced her and answered evasively, "You will learn soon enough."

With such a cryptic statement, Isabella turned and exited Hiei's room without another look, leaving Hiei to make a decision; brood over the witch's words or find something else to distract himself with.

It was actually much more difficult for the demon than most would have thought. His natural curiosity prompted him to brood, hinting at even sniffing around to learn more about Ayana and her connection to his room, just to satisfy himself, but his level-headed and reasonable side frowned at the curiosity, dubbing it a foolishness.

"_I am not foolishness! Through me, Hiei could learn it all, then distract himself for as long as he pleases_," Curiosity snapped, a fist planted on her hip, loaded with attitude.

"_You can't seriously think that learning about some meaningless female employee is going to bring Hiei any advance in any area of his life, do you? Digging his nose into what is obviously a private matter will only bring trouble. The man should preoccupy himself with some other activity besides you_." Reason stood, poised and urbane in his tattered attire, his voice taking on the haughty tone that comes with being fashioned from cockiness and cold instinct.

"_For one thing, Ayana isn't nearly as meaningless as you think. I'm sure that if Hiei could just learn a bit more about her, he may find solace and his own strife may be that much closer to being resolved_."

"_Pah. The woman employee works in an Asylum for the deranged demons and can't even control most of them. She would have no affect on Hiei at all, I'm sure_."

"_Like you could be sure about anything. Reason isn't always truth_."

"_And curiosity always did kill the cat_." Curiosity opened her mouth to make a quick reply but Reason saw it coming and intervened,"_but the satisfaction never brought it back._"

Curiosity glared at being beaten to the punch but Reason had already walked off, which signaled that she was to fade from existence until the next time Hiei ever faced a decision. Back in reality it had only been a few seconds and Hiei had adjourned to brood for a few quiet minutes before throwing it away to train some time longer in the gym.

To brood, Hiei decided it would be better to be in an element more familiar to him, so he crossed his room and entered the hallway, headed downstairs to go out into the garden; his only hope was that no one was out there who would bother him.

As he traveled down the hall he could distinctly hear the crazy child Tasha on the floor above him, screaming and pitching another fit over something utterly pointless. Hiei rolled his eyes and continued down the hall without falter until he got to the stairs. Descending, he was left alone as he headed outside into the garden. The day was bright and warm, which in Hiei's case, wasn't exactly a good thing. People were meandering down the different pathways or seated on benches, all admiring the natural beauty provided for them. Hiei's entrance to the floral haven didn't go unnoticed but it wasn't exactly recognized either. Hiei took that as a good sign and tried his best to make his strides casual and leisurely as he headed toward the large oak tree on the far side.

Finally Hiei was standing beneath the large expanse of leaves. With fluid agility, Hiei jumped up into the branches and found himself a high perch to rest on. He quickly made himself comfortable while also making sure that the surrounding leaves and branches gave him moderate coverage; he'd rather keep himself isolated for as long as possible.

Now he could brood properly.

What he wanted to know was why Ayana was so edgy when she neared his room, especially now that the insane female girl had claimed it as the 'Bad Room' and dared Ayana to come in and get her. Hiei was sure that she didn't realize that he had noticed her antics but it really wasn't all that difficult to discern; she twitch excessively when she was even three feet from the doorway and she never set foot inside, even to give Hiei his linens.

Then there was the notable fact that she was afraid to wield any sort of weapon, refusing to spar unless it was hand-to-hand. It was as if they were ... evil to her but _why_ was the question.

It didn't help that the woman seemed extremely obsessed with nature, obviously shown in her interior decorating. Everything in her house had that same strange aura around it that couldn't be justified as demon or human. It had the strength of a demon about it but the tranquility and softness of a petty human so it was impossible to make out. Hiei had it in his mind that Ayana definitely wasn't human but she also couldn't be a demon. It all just didn't add up right.

Maybe if he just stopped thinking about it and waited, Isabella would be good to her word and Hiei would learn everything soon enough. It wasn't much of a reassurance though, which kept Hiei brooding over it for almost half an hour before he was rudely interrupted.

"Hiei."

The demon opened his eyes to find himself gazing into the pitch black ones of Isabella. "What the hell do you want?"

The girl gave a wry smirk as she pulled back and resounded in that strange way of hers, "Your friends are here to see you. Afterward I want you to come to the training room; there's something I want to show you."

Hiei's eyebrow arched questioningly; he would probably end up going to the training room to see what Isabella had to show but what did she mean by friends? To him, those three nuisances were nothing but pains in his side. Nonetheless he sat up and dropped down to the ground before heading back inside, not caring that Isabella was still standing on the branch when he left.

Inside Hiei traversed down the hall until he walked into the lobby to be met by a jovial shout.

"Hiei!" Yusuke came up, arms raised as if to worship him or exult him in some way. "How have you been in the crazy house?"

Hiei glared at the boy as he came to a stop, refusing to go any further. Yusuke and the two others didn't seem to mind; instead, they came to him. Kurama looked down at his red-eyed companion and asked, "Yes, how have you been lately?"

Kuwabara stared as well, but without saying anything. Hiei glanced at him briefly and immediately understood that the carrot-head was still traumatized from the last encounter, when he had a blade pressed to his throat.

"I'm fine," Hiei answered begrudgingly. "Now let me leave this damn place."

Kurama shook his head. "Not just yet. Isabella-san has told us that she has yet to learn what has caused you problems so you're to stay here until she releases you."

_That damn witch_, Hiei bit out to himself, then spoke, "Don't expect me to stay in here for long, fox. Sooner or later I'll find a way to get out of here, whether that witch lets me out or not."

Kurama nodded as if he understood and then he sighed and said, "We wish we could stay and talk with you longer but we're on a tight schedule today and need to be going. We'll come back and visit you again though, so look forward to it."

Hiei didn't say anything in response and Kurama took it that he wasn't going to try and keep them there. With a one shoulder shrug, Yusuke lead the way as the three detectives left the institute without another word.

_Damn bakas_, Hiei thought bitterly. Now that they were gone though, he was free to head to the training room.

Hiei walked down the hallway and was soon standing at the doors. As he pushed them aside he wondered what exactly was so important that Isabella wanted to show him. It didn't take him long to figured it out though.

As he stepped in, Ayana looked up at him from where she was on the ground, having just been knocked there by Isabella who currently stood over her. Isabella looked up as well and when she saw Hiei standing there, her eyes seemed to sink in depth, as if she were excited about something. Hiei saw the shift in the witch's expression and immediately became wary of her.

"Isabella, what are you doing?" Ayana sat up as Isabella walked over to the weaponry.

"Hiei, please close the doors," Isabella remarked. Hiei wasn't sure if he really should but as he stood there, deciding, the doors closed on there own, followed by a click as a hidden lock fell into place.

The small girl had disappeared into the weaponry as the doors had closed themselves and soon enough, reappeared with Hiei's katana clutched in her small hands.

"What are you doing with my blade, witch?" Hiei hissed out.

"Using it to demonstrate something" was Isabella's evasive answer. She strode toward Ayana who was still sitting on the sparring mat. When the girl saw Isabella coming toward her with the katana in hand, her eyes widened and she quickly clambered to her feet.

"I-Isabella!" she intoned, a quake in her voice. "Th-this had better not b-be what I th-think it is."

"I have a feeling it is what you think it is, Ayana my dear, but you can't avoid it." As Isabella spoke, she produced the same piece of cloth from the night before and tied it to the hilt of Hiei's katana.

Ayana began to back up as Isabella advanced, which irritated the witch slightly. Isabella stopped walking and so did Ayana, a look of relief on her face. It was immediately replaced with fear, however, when Isabella started toward her again and she was unable to move.

"Isabella! Don't do this!" The woman began to shake violently but still, her feet were held firmly in place as Isabella began to quickly close the distance between them.

"It's for your own good," the small girl replied evenly. She now unsheathed the katana and brought herself to stand right before Ayana.

Hiei was watching this from the doors, too curious to see what was going to happen to register that Isabella was wielding his own blade. Ayana was now quaking all over, her face pale and clammy as she stared at the silver blade being raised to her. Her eyes held an evident fear and aversion to the weapon and yet she couldn't take her eyes off the thing.

"Give me your hand, Ayana." Seemingly of its own accord, Ayana's left hand shot out. Isabella seemed pleased and slowly passed the katana into Ayana's hand, forcing the fingers to wrap around the hilt.

Now Ayana was hyperventilating, her entire left arm seeming to vibrate vehemently as it clutched the hilt. "P-Please! S-stop this!"

Isabella took a furtive step back from the woman and watched calmly as Ayana bit her lip, her eyes squeezing shut as if she were in pain. Her face contorted into a grimace and she began to whimper, her entire body still being racked with tremours.

"Isabella," the witch turned her exuberant black eyes toward Hiei as he spoke, "what are you doing?"

"Making her confront herself." Isabella spoke with pleasure before turning to continue watching Ayana's tortured face. "Making her face her fears."

* * *

Isabella's horrible isn't she? So we're inching nearer to what Ayana has such trouble confronting and chapter nine will soon be on it's way. Just hold tight why don't you.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	10. Eluding Pain

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_Eluding Pain_

Hiei continued to stare as Ayana shook with trepidation. Tears were now spilling down her face, dripping to the floor at her feet. He didn't know what to do or say so he decided to just be the silent observer.

It was a few minutes later before Ayana finally relinquished her grip on the sword, letting it clatter to the floor as she collapsed onto her hands and knees. Isabella smiled softly as she picked the katana up from the floor and returned it to its sheath, then walked over to Ayana and laid a hand on her shoulder, saying, "You know I don't want to torture like this but if you're going to continue avoiding this, I'm going to take steps to push you along."

Ayana didn't say anything in response, still trying to calm herself down. Isabella deemed that enough and headed toward the weaponry to return Hiei's katana to it's place.

Ayana finally sat back on her heals and closed her eyes as she asked, "Hiei, why are you here?"

Hiei didn't answer her but Isabella did as she came back. "I invited him to come. I think this involves him now."

"It doesn't," Ayana bit out, her eyes still shut. "Don't drag him into this. The patients aren't supposed to know."

"Tasha knows," Isabella pointed out.

"She's different. None of the other patients knew me then."

"But how do you know that Tasha is going to keep her mouth shut?"

"She's been doing that for five years, hasn't she? She can survive for another hundred or so more."

Hiei was finally sick of this. He didn't really care for this and knew that being here wasn't doing him any good so he turned to leave.

"Hiei wait," Isabella called. "Despite what Ayana says, you _are_ apart of this whether you care to be or not."

"Hn. Send me a card," Hiei snapped.

Before anyone else could say a word, Hiei unlocked the doors and left. He decided that his room was the best place for solitude at the moment so he took to the stairs and finally found himself sitting on the edge of his bed, more perturbed and confused than when he first set out to brood.

Now he knew that there was definitely something up with Ayana. She was supposed to "confront" something but was hesitant to do so, but what was it? Supposedly the crazy girl knew about it, knew Ayana 'then' and was supposedly keeping her mouth shut about it. Isabella was determined to get Ayana to confront this thing of hers, face her fears. The most pressing question was how did this involve him? He saw nothing that tied him to Ayana and hoped that there was nothing that tied him to her. He'd rather be clueless than find out that there was indeed something that connected the two of them.

Hiei, seeing that he was getting nowhere with his brooding, shoved away all his thoughts and tried to enter that lapsing state that he had obtained earlier. It didn't take too much effort on his part for it to happen and he was once again unmolested by his own thoughts, troubles, and past memories. The sweet peaceful void had once again taken a hold on his mind, putting Hiei at a prepared ease. He was still tense to the point where he could defend himself if someone disturbed him but he was also washed over with a sense of tranquility.

But he was again intruded into but not by a patient or employee, but the morose walls of his room. How it happened, Hiei was still unsure of, but the walls suddenly shoved their stories at him, shattering his peace of mind and replacing it with the turmoil, burning anger, pain, and suffering that had once inhabited within their box. These feelings were strong, almost renewed by something, and they pressed unabated into Hiei's own mind that he was beginning to feel them in himself.

These were not his feelings though, but someone elses. What were his were the memories of his own pain and suffering that were unleashed in the stead of the mirrored emotions. Hiei was unaccustomed to all this holding place in his mind, especially when he was being intruded upon by an outside thing. He struggled to suppress all these depressing and tormenting memories, from both himself and that past inmate, but they were virulent and incorrigible, striking swift and fast at his senses; Hiei, despite his strength, didn't last out and finally succumbed to the memories that fought for dominance.

* * *

_Screams erupted from a closed and locked door, a fierce pounding was heard from inside. No one stirred in the night because of these disturbances; they were used to that inmate's fury and has since ignored the antics._

_Just as suddenly the screaming and pounding had started, it quickly ceased and nothing was heard from the room any longer. Inside, a shrouded figure sat in the middle of their dark room, shuddering and crying. They began to whisper to themselves, "I will die here. I will die here. Nothing will please me anymore. I must die, no matter the price."_

_What no one could see were the small incisions this inmate was making into their own wrists with their fingernails. The cuts were as cleanly made as if they were put there by a knife but, seeing as weapons were disposed of to a safe chamber, the patient was left to make use of their other sources. As they continued to repeat the mantra to themselves, their index finger pressed lightly against the middle of their wrist and slid straight down until they reached the crook of their elbow. Sucking in their breath, they watched the blood flow from the wound for a few minutes before the wound quickly scabbed over, then closed itself, only leaving a pencil-thin scar._

"_I MUST DIE!" They screamed, enraged suddenly by the healing that had occurred._

_

* * *

__He was alone, once again, traveling through Makai and headed for Jigure's place of residence; he was going to get the Jagan implanted into his brain no matter the pain it caused him. He was used to pain, used to finding no solace in anything or anyone. An implant was next to nothing compared to this dark weight on him, forever suffocating him with its hatred and dark plotting. He now knew the truth of the world; that no one truly could care for him. In reality, everyone he came in contact with was plotting against him and he could see it in the way they talked with him, in their eyes and mien; they did not look to him with honesty and sincerity. Only when they planned to murder or deceit him did they play the role of a caring and sweet person._

_He had already exploited their plans though, so they were never carried out. He either killed or escaped from them to once again be on his own. No one would ever succeed in trouncing him; he was too quick for them and to smart to fall into their traps._

_

* * *

__Nails embedded in the drywall, body shaking with their anger and self-loathing, the tortured inmate whispered in defeat, "It's all my fault. I am sin in a physical form is what I am; stained and dirty, shunned by my own kind for what I've done. I was forsaken, driven mad, and contained."_

_The tears were flowing down their face as they continued, "But I must right my wrongs. Please, Isabella let me make up for my wrong doings."_

_Isabella, the owner of the institute, stepped forward. "What do you want to do?"_

* * *

These memories were abruptly cut off when a knock came at Hiei's door. He finally resurfaced from the tormented memories of himself and the past occupant. He had not see their face, didn't know whether it was a male or female that had been there, and the voice sounded nothing like any he knew. 

Standing, Hiei walked over to the door and opened. Isabella stood there, a thoroughly shaken Ayana standing behind her. Hiei could see that if Isabella did not have a tight grip on the woman's wrist, Ayana would have sprinted down the hall; from what was lost to him.

"What?" he asked bitterly.

"We seek your audience," Isabella calmly replied.

Hiei glared down at her. "Why?"

The girl returned the glare and answered, "Let us in and you will find out."

"N-no Isabella. Don't do this. N-n-not now!" Ayana began to struggle against the witch, vainly tugging at her wrist. Hiei didn't know what else to do, knowing that if he didn't move and permit them in, Isabella would surely make him.

The demon stepped aside and Isabella slowly began to tow an frantic Ayana in. Her eyes were wide and frightened, almost convulsing, attempting to free herself from her captor. "Isabella! I-I don't w-wa-want to do this! There h-has to be a-a-another way!" She began to cry as her feet inched closer and closer to the threshold and she whimpered.

Isabella ignored any and all Ayana's pleas and continued to tug and pull the girl inside the room. Finally, Ayana had past through the door and in to the room.

What happened was almost immediate. Ayana dropped to the floor, letting out a dreadful scream, convulsing and twitching madly there; something was happening to her, which was obvious, and it caused her pain. Hiei stood and watched, at a loss for anything else to do in the matter. Isabella stood nearby, a look of pained satisfaction on her face; this was something she had to do, no matter the ultimate suffering it caused.

* * *

And the suspense is probably torturing some of you now, isn't it? I would think that, while reading, you learned of things that may have at some other time been elusive? Chapter ten is soon in coming, so don't worry your little minds over the posting of the chapters; I have gotten over the major writer's block and now my only meager block is the press for time and when I can free myself enough to write. I'll make time for it though, that I can assure you.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**

PS. Have you ever looked Fanfiction up on Wikipedia? I did today and it was all quite interesting to read about. Check it out sometime; it's riveting (but I may be exaggerating slightly on that account)


	11. Resolute in the Transformation

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_) **

_Resolute in the Transformation_

There was immense pain in Ayana's expression as she balled up on the floor, shaking and whimpering. Every few seconds a scream would tear through her and her back would arch, making it look even more excruciating to watch. A few times, someone would come to see what was going on, but when they saw the fiasco, realization would dawn on them or they would be confused, only to be shooed away with a severe look from Isabella.

Hiei had no idea what was going on as he stood by the door, watching it all. Tears were wetting Ayana's face now and she had ceased to scream, but continued to shake and whimper. Not long after, something began to happen.

Ayana continued to shake, that was apparent, but Hiei could now see that her features were shifting, even if it was slight. Her brown hair was becoming darker and tints of red began to appear. The length of her hair was shortening to as well, at a strange rate. Hiei didn't understand what was happening to her and didn't question it, feeling that the silence wasn't meant to be broken. All he could do was continue to watch.

Her skin grew a few shades whiter, her hair now came to her shoulders and was a metallic crimson shade, and her ears were visibly pointed now. Minutes continued to pass and it seemed like an hour had flow away before Ayana finally stopped shaking, her whimpers fading off. She was breathing heavily but she didn't look to be tormented anymore.

Slowly her eyes opened, revealing not the usual bright blue irises, but deep green ones. She slowly unfurled herself, straightening her legs out and unlocking her arms from around her chest. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up. She was standing, but her legs were unsure of themselves as they shook.

Now the full extent of Ayana's transformation was revealed to Hiei.

The girl now only stood a few inches taller than him, when before, she was about the same height as Kurama was. Her clothes hung loosely around her thinner frame and Hiei saw that the strange aura he had been feeling around her was now three times as stronger than before.

Tears still rolled down her face as she stood, her eyes fixated, unblinking, on the tiled floor under her bare feet. Hiei could tell she wasn't seeing the floor though, but something else, somewhere in the back of her mind. Isabella finally moved, coming to stand at Ayana's side. Gently taking the woman's hand in her own, Isabella guided Ayana farther into the room and had her sit on Hiei's bed. Ayana complied mechanically, still oblivious to her surroundings. A few tremours shook her body from time to time, but she was now silent and wore an almost impassive expression. Every few seconds or so, her face may contort with pain, regret, or sadness but she never once uttered a word.

Isabella continued to stand by her, watching just impassively as always. Hiei didn't move from where he was, but his eyes were still watching Ayana's actions as well; seeing all that he had, there was no way he could turn away and ignore it all.

Almost an hour had now passed in silence. Ayana was still in her head and Hiei was beginning to wonder what exactly was going on in there. Without much thought to the repercussions, he opened his Jagan and entered her mind.

* * *

_The hotel was just as grand as it was to imagine. Ayana stood on the sidewalk, looking up at it with disgusted on her face. She had since concealed her otherworldly features and was now waiting for the opportune moment to carry out her plan._

"_Of course the rich ones have to live the luxury life in a damn hotel," she hissed._

_Just then, she heard the raucous of cheers, whistles, and claps from inside; now she was going to strike._

_Going into the alley, at the side of the hotel, she began to scale the twelve story building. When she finally climbed onto the roof, she sprinted for the doors that lead down to the penthouse floor; exactly where she needed to be. As she entered the hall, she was momentarily hit with the immaculate decor and grandeur of the hotel's interior. It was pristine and decorated with the most expensive of items. She didn't have time to dawdle though; she was here on business._

_She ran down the hall and easily located room 1200. Breaking in was the easier part of it all. Taking out a spare keycard, she swiped it and entered, unnoticed. Inside, she found the master bedroom and walked in, found a place to hide herself, and then waited. It didn't take long for her quarry to return from the award ceremony. She was tired, which Ayana had accurately expected, so she retired to her bedroom immediately._

_The young woman entered and sighed, expecting to finally get a good night's rest after all the preparations and calls she had to make. Ayana knew better though. Producing a dagger from her leg holster, she waited in the shadow of the wardrobe to strike. When the woman came to stand before the wardrobe, opening the doors to find her pajamas, Ayana slipped out from hiding, now exposing her elfish features. The shadows still clung to her in places, giving her face a haunted quality, which suited her fine._

_When the woman saw her, she screamed–an action that Ayana had come to expect from her victims. Swiftly and accurately, Ayana dashed the woman's throat, followed by a few stabs in the chest for good measure. Ayana had no care for the blood that coated the clothes, carpet, and blade as she smirked. Just a quickly and silently as she entered, she left, headed back onto the roof of the building._

_Just as soon as she had landed on the ground and began to walk away, Ayana was hit with a wall of remorse. This happened after every assassination she carried out and it was beginning to get to her in the worst of ways. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, that the blood she was spilling was not spilled with justified reason. She had abandoned her code, walked away from her own kind, and was shunned for her actions._

_Walking down the sidewalk, impervious to the blade she was still gripping in her hand, Ayana was wracked with immense guilty. It was painful, the code she had bound herself to virulent as it attacked her mind, raping her brain for it's shameful and impure faults. It was finally becoming too much._

_

* * *

_

Hiei was suddenly yanked from Ayana's head. When he reopened his eyes he saw that Isabella was glaring at him heatedly.

"Intruding on other people's thoughts is extremely rude," she bit out when she saw that she had his attention. "Ayana needs to resolve things without you watching in."

Hiei didn't respond. He was staring at Ayana. What was she? What did that memory mean? Hiei was running over questions upon questions that he thought to never voice aloud. He was curious beyond all reason, but he would never openly admit to it.

* * *

Four excruciatingly long hours later, Ayana finally came to. She blinked her green eyes rapidly before looking up. Isabella was standing before her, black eyes almost apologetic as they looked into Ayana's. Tears still silently slid down her face but she seemed for resolute in herself, more firm and confident.

"Thanks," Ayana whispered softly.

"So you've come to terms with yourself?" Isabella asked in a gentle tone.

Ayana nodded solemnly as she whipped the tears off her face. With a small smile she said, "It was difficult, but I did it."

"Was I right in saying that you would have never confronted it if I let you go?"

Ayana rolled her eyes skyward but nodded again.

"Good. Now you'll have to explain yourself to Hiei." Isabella nodded her head toward Hiei and, before Ayana could utter a retort, she was vanished in the same strange mist, leaving the woman and Hiei alone.

Slowly turning her head toward the door, Ayana expected to see Hiei standing there, but instead, she was looking at an empty doorway that was opened to an equally empty hallway. Ayana wasn't sure where he went, but she had a feeling she knew. Standing, the woman left the room behind and headed downstairs, destined for the garden where she was sure to find a brooding Hiei awaiting her.

There was much explaining to be done on her part.

* * *

I'm very pleased with this chapter. I'm anxious to see this story come to an end though. It will be the first fic I've ever actually completed and that's something for me to be happy about, considering my short attention span issues. I'm hoping you all enjoyed this and continue to until the very end.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	12. Past Revealed

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_) **

_Past Revealed_

Seated on the tree branch, Hiei tried his hardest not to think about what had just conspired in his room. He would rather lapse, once more, into a mindless peaceful state, but it eluded him with fervor. Not only that, but he couldn't help but want to understand all that had just happened. He didn't expect answers and he sure as hell wasn't going to open his mouth and make them. He knew that he was going to leave soon so he didn't want to be involved. It would only hurt him in the end when their callous and devious plans were finally revealed. The people here didn't really care for him and he didn't want them to. Getting involved would only mean being caught off guard.

Still fidgeting over everything, thoughts still circling on themselves, Hiei felt Ayana's aura coming nearer. She probably came to tell him to forget all about what had happened and that she hated him for being alive, so Hiei didn't think to get away as she finally came to stand underneath the tree.

She didn't immediately say anything. She instead, sat herself at the base of the tree and stared at the brick pathway. Thankfully, with night descending around Tokyo, most of the patients had already found refuge inside, and the ones that were still lingering stayed closer to the building and didn't wander out to the tree. The two of them were alone in there silence; Hiei trying to ignore his thoughts and Ayana while the woman contemplated how to breach upon the subject that hovered over them both.

Finally she said, "I owe you an explanation for all this."

Hiei didn't speak. The statement didn't make any sense to him so he stayed silent.

Ayana had expected this and continued on with difficulty. "I ... also apologize for getting you involved in this. Isabella must have thought that through you, she could get me to "confront" my problem. She told me she saw a similar past in you, as is in me. I know you probably doubt that, but I've come to believe that it may very well be true.

"I'm not expecting you to tell your past to me, but I'm going to explain mine to you, just so you understand what just recently happened to me."

She took a moment's pause to think everything over in her head, straighten herself out, and regain her composure a bit. Finally she spoke again. "I'm an elf, which I'm sure is something you've been wondering about. The decor in my house comes from my need to be with nature. My kind is less known of than demons are only because we keep ourselves well hidden away from normal society. I used to live an elven life, just like the rest, but I wandered into the city out of curiosity and was found out by someone. They employed me as an assassin and I agreed, young and naive, thinking that this would be an adventure and that it wouldn't provoke hatred from my elders.

"I started ... k-killing people that my employer wanted dead. It was difficult at times, but I pushed away the code that bound me not to harm people, my greed winning over my morals. What I didn't at first realize was that ever time I infringed upon the code, its magick was attacking my mind, making me slowly lose it. Isabella, as part of her job, found me in a weak state. I was sick and tortured but when she tried to bring me here, I fought. I was afraid of being confined to a building and in my half-crazed state, I though that they would kill me for my faults. At the same time, I had gotten used to the torture in my mind and I was reluctant to give it up at first.

"She finally got me here, but not without trouble. I killed a few of her employees in my fury and wounded a great deal others; Pablo was one of them. They ... sedated me and finally got me into my room where—the room your in now was the one they confined me to. I was mad then and I attempted to kill myself on numerous occasions. I thought that the only way to make up for what I had done was to die. I hated myself and didn't want to live anymore."

Ayana laughed a dry laugh as she said, "I know it probably sounds so ... cliche but it was what I went through, despite all that. Unlike most of the patients, who were allowed into the garden or around the rest of the building, I was never allowed out of my room. I was the first case that Isabella had where the patient was a danger to everyone. I was also the one who made Isabella create the rule that weapons were to be secured and never to leave the training hall. Not many people here now, know what I used to be like, and some who do had there brains swiped clean because I asked Isabella that there be few people who knew about it.

"I was here for a good year or so before I finally pushed myself inside. I asked Isabella if I could work for her in payment for what I had done in the past. I gave up weapons, afraid that if I held one again, I would be tempted to fall back into the same state I had just escaped. I now hate the sight of blood and people in pain and I tried to forget what I used to be. I didn't ... get past it, I just pushed it away, thinking that making a new personality for myself and working for Isabella would erase everything else.

"As you can tell, it didn't."

Ayana finally fell silent. Hiei mulled over everything she had just told him and finally had to ask a question. "What happened to you in the room?"

"My 'transformation'?" Ayana thought about it. "I think when I left that room, I also tried to leave behind that past. Isabella knew what I had done, that I didn't accept everything completely, so she bound a spell to the room that kept the memories there and would also force me to revert back to my elvish form if I ever entered. I had already feared the room and fought to keep away from it, but when I realized there was a spell there too, I immediately made sure that _no one _would get that room ... until you came."

Ayana paused again before saying, "You're the first person to every stay in that room in five years. Doesn't that make you feel special."

Hiei didn't answer. He was too busy making sense of it all. Finally, Ayana stood up and stretched, saying, "Well, now that you know, I'll leave you. Oh, and you can should be released in a few days time."

She then walked away, leaving Hiei to his own thoughts.

* * *

Yes, this was a short chapter. I just felt that Ayana's explanation was enough for you to digest. Chapter twelve will soon come next and I think that then, this fic will be finished. So what did you think about Ayana's confession, hm? It's interesting enough, I'm sure.

Tata, luvs.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


	13. To Think or Not to Think

**Asylum**

**Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from _Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide_)**

_To Think Or Not To Think_

Hiei sat in the oak tree for a length of time, thinking, thunking, rerunning, and piecing everything together. Finally, he came up with a synopsis of what Ayana had just confessed.

Ayana was an elf who was bound by a code not to kill. She disobeyed that by becoming an assassin for humans and took other people's lives without reason. The code, however, was still in place and it "attacked" her mind each time she killed, basically bringing her elfish IQ down a few notches every time a person passed away. It soon became too much of a strain on Ayana and she sunk into a sort of insanity. Isabella found her, took her into the institute and locked her in the room he now occupied. Ayana fermented in her madness for some time, trying to either escape or kill herself. Finally she came to her senses and decided that to repent from the past she must help care for the mentally ill and deranged. In doing so, she shoved her past away; wanting to forget it and make it disappear rather than accept it and let it be apart of her. To do it, Ayana stopped wielding all weapons and refused to go into her old room.

That was basically what Hiei had gathered and understood. What he still didn't quite understand, though, was what any of this had to do with him.

Isabella had said she saw a likeness in him and Ayana; Hiei scoffed at that. Ayana and him had nothing in common ... right?

Frustrated, Hiei grunted and jumped from his branch. He was sick of thinking so much in one day. This sort of thinking couldn't possibly be healthy for him. Instead of pondering on things any longer, Hiei headed back inside and upstairs, completely disregarding the fact that he had missed dinner. As he walked down the hall, he wondered if he was seriously going to be let out soon. It didn't seem as if they had figured anything about him or anything of the sort, so why?

_Don't question_, Hiei hissed at himself,_ just accept it. __You want to get out as soon as possible, right?_

Once he reached his room, Hiei slowly walked in and noticed that there was a monumental change in the feeling that pervaded in the room. There was a sense of closure, peace of mind, and purity in it, which soothed and unnerved Hiei in one fell swoop. Hiei treaded over to his bed and sat down, trying to just forget about everything that had happened, everything Ayana had said, and everything that was going to soon happen; he'd rather leave all his troubles and confusion for some other day in the far and distant future, thank you.

Before he realized it, Hiei had slid onto his side and was lightly sleeping away the night.

* * *

"WAKE UP MEANY MR. HIEI!"

Hiei's eyes snapped open and immediately narrowed angrily at the sight of big brown eyes and a nose stuck in his face. The face giggled obnoxiously when it saw that its quarry has finally awoken and it pulled away. Hiei sat up and growled lowly, watching silently as Tasha skipped merrily around his room with seemingly no intentions.

"What. Are. You Doing. In. My room?" Hiei hissed out.

"Waking you up, Mr. Meany!" Tasha replied with a laugh.

Another growl rumbled in the demon's chest. "And what gave you the right to come in my room and wake me up?"

"I gave her permission." Hiei's head swivelled around to see Ayana leaning against the doorjamb with a lazy smirk on her face. "You slept fairly well last night, I see."

"Hn." Hiei turned away.

Ayana walked in and came to sit down beside him, which momentarily surprised the man. Ayana caught the traces of his surprise on his face, even if it was brief, and it made her laugh. "Now that I've confronted what I needed to, I can come in here without feeling any affects."

Hiei didn't respond. She didn't seem to mind as she plowed on. "I'm sure you'll be a little curious to know why we're releasing you earlier than was expected. The reason is because Isabella sees that your paranoia is something that can only be fixed with friendship and over time. An institute setting isn't going to do your paranoia much good, so you can become an out patient and come by from time to time just for an update, but really, you can only solve this problem on your own. I am offering to be your friend, but you can only accept me, I can't force friendship on you."

She stopped and watched Hiei for any changes, but she was disappointed. Hiei closely guarded his features, not wanting to give anything away. Although his face never expressed it, he was turning everything over a mile a minute, his brain almost flying off the handle with how much he was processing. What she said was ultimately true, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to entirely admit it to himself because that would be playing in her hands. Once he admitted that, she may just put some hidden devious plan into action and he didn't need any more hurt.

Ayana sighed, knowing she was only going to be able to do so much on her end. Standing, she stretched and then turned to Tasha who was giggling and muttering to herself in the far corner of the room. "Come on Tasha, you need to go to the doctor for a check up. Lets leave Mr. Hiei by himself for awhile."

Tasha jumped up and skipped over to Ayana, taking her hand in her own as she began to walk away. When the two reached the doorway, Ayana turned around and said in Hiei's direction, "Think on what I just said for awhile and then you're free to leave. Your friends are downstairs in the lobby waiting for you." With that, the woman left, her departure marked by Tasha's discordant singing.

Hiei's eyes bore into the floor beneath his feet as his mind seemed to torment him. He could take Ayana's words to heart and believe them, which would solve so much if only he could believe it to be true beyond the shadow of a doubt. His thoughts contradicted themselves, though.

It was almost half an hour later that Hiei finally stood up and headed out into the hallway. He had finally decided to not make a decision at all for the time being. It was too much to process in such a time. Now he put it aside and headed toward the lobby where he'd see Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara again.

Hiei would only make a change when he was sure of himself.

* * *

And the breaks work! FINALLY! I have finished a story for the first time in my damn life! -does a happy dance- Now, on to the next story in my little saga. Just to warn you, the stories that follow all connect to this one through the characters. -winks-

Review.  
**.Bloodrunner.**


End file.
